Government Ready to Remove Day-2 Tests for Vaccinated

Speculation has come out over the course of the weekend (15th-16th of January) surrounding sources claiming that the government are ready to remove day-2 tests for fully vaccinated travellers in an announcement to come this month.

Several sources including The Times have spoken to government sources, and many are anticipating the reveal of this change for fully vaccinated travellers on January 26th, when Boris Johnson intends to announce the end of ‘Plan B’.

According to many of these media sources, Grant Shapps has been said to be in favour of removing day-2 tests for vaccinated travellers.

“We are looking at removing all Covid tests for vaccinated travellers by the end of January, which is likely to coincide with the review of the plan B measures on January 26,” a source was quotes saying.

This is exciting news for travellers and travel businesses alike, especially as it is suspected that the government will remove day-2 tests for fully vaccinated travellers in time for February half-term, a time when many families will be looking forward to travelling out of the UK.

It is family travellers specifically that the industry has seen a lot of concern from surrounding the amount of testing required for travellers over the past few months, and seeing this potential update following the removal of pre-departure testing and self-isolation on arrival (for more detail on these relaxed restrictions, check out our article) could be fantastic news for those families who were worried about the costs of tests.

At present (January 17th), all fully vaccinated travellers must take a lateral flow test on or before day-2 of their arrival in the UK. If they test positive, then they must self-isolate for 10 days. This self-isolation can be shortened by taking further tests on days 5 and 6 and both showing negative results.

Previously, to be released from self-isolation required tests on days 6 and 7 but as of today (Monday, the 17th of January), these have been updated to fall in line with the domestic testing requirements around self-isolation.

If day-2 tests are removed for fully vaccinated travellers, this means that no testing will be required in order to enter the UK. This means vaccinated travellers will only need to perform tests that are required to enter their destination (you can check these on the Foreign Travel Advice website), reducing the cost of travelling further.

This could be a huge boost to consumer confidence and allow more people to travel with fewer costs to worry about surrounding requirements.

So, if you’re looking forward to booking your next great holiday, don’t wait, get in touch with a travel business registered with PTS now for 100% financial protection through trust. Or, if you’d like assistance choosing which of our lovely PTS members to book with, you can contact PTS directly at 0207 190 9988.

And if you’d like to learn more about your consumer protection with PTS and how the Package Travel Regulations protect your holiday booking, check out our pages and articles.