Prognosis

U.K. Imposes Mandatory Covid Tests on All Incoming Travelers

Shapps: Tests needed now due to emergence of new virus strains
Fines for people who don’t get test within 72 hours of travel

A health care worker administers a Covid-19 swab test on a traveler at a pre-flight testing center at Munich Airport in Nov.Photographer: Michaela Handrek-Rehle/Bloomberg

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By Tim Ross and Charlotte Ryan

January 8, 2021 at 12:01 AM UTC

Updated on

January 8, 2021 at 11:37 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

All passengers arriving in the U.K. will be required to prove they do not have coronavirus, showing a negative test result taken within 72 hours of the start of their journey.

Under rules announced Friday, anyone failing to produce evidence they don’t have Covid-19 will be fined 500 pounds ($678). Travelers arriving from countries not on the government’s open travel corridor list will be required to isolate at home for 10 days, regardless of their test results.