Covid numbers low for returning UK travellers
Less than 1.5 per cent of arrivals from red and amber list countries test positive for Covid-19, according to new NHS figures
Data for the week between 26 August and 1 September show that only 3,347 (0.9 per cent) Day two tests on arrivals from amber list countries were positive, compared to 392, or one per cent, of Day eight tests. For arrivals from red-listed countries, 165 (1.3 per cent) Day two tests processed were positive, compared to 121 (1.4 per cent) the previous week. Another 35 (0.7 per cent) Day eight tests were positive, compared to 31 (0.7 per cent) the previous week.
Testing of arrivals has been led by the NHS’s Managed Quarantine Service (MQS) since 15 February. Since then, 3.6 million people have quarantined at home or in a managed hotel. Across the whole of the MQS programme, Day two tests in managed quarantine hotels saw the highest proportion of positive tests in the latest reporting week, with 1.3 per cent of tests processed returning a positive result.
Confusion around travel rules
Between 26 August and 1 September, 406,231 people started quarantine, compared to 344,102 the previous week. In this period, 399,582 people quarantined at home and 6,649 in a hotel.
However, the UK Office for National Statistics has found that 23 per cent of UK travellers from amber countries did not quarantine at home for 10 days or failed to complete PCR tests on days two and eight.