The UK is relaxing tests for travellers
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the cabinet had approved the scrapping of pre-departure Covid tests for travellers visiting the country
The changes will apply from 4am on Friday, 7 January. Initially the new rules were only expected to apply in England.
However, according to a statement released by the Scottish government: "The new measures apply across the UK after agreement between the UK government and the three devolved administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland."
Johnson told parliament ‘where specific measures are no longer serving their purpose they will be dropped’, adding: “Now Omicron is so prevalent, these measures are having limited impact on the growth in cases whilst continuing to pose significant costs to our travel industry.”
He said pre-departure tests discouraged many from travelling overseas for fear of being trapped and incurring extra expense.
The UK will be returning to a framework abandoned last October
“We will also be lifting the requirement to self-isolate on arrival until receipt of a negative PCR,” Johnson added, “returning instead to the system we had in October last year, where those arriving in England will need to take a lateral flow test no later than the end of day two, and if positive, a further PCR test to help us identify any new variants at the border.”
Scottish transport secretary Michael Matheson said that: "We still have significant concerns over Omicron, but we recognise that, now it is the most dominant strain in Scotland and across the UK, it is sensible to review the measures currently in place.
He added that the Scottish government 'fully understood the impact of the restrictions on staff and businesses in the travel and aviation sectors,' and that the changes 'demonstrate our commitment to not keep measures in place any longer than necessary.'