UK travel restrictions could be rolled back ‘quickly’
UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the government could very quickly remove any travel restrictions
Javid told the Commons on 8 December that if the Omicron variant of Covid-19, ‘as is expected’, becomes the dominant strain of Covid, ‘there will be less need to have any kind of travel restrictions at all’.
Javid’s comments came in response to a briefing held by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, setting out the UK government’s Covid ‘Plan B’. New rules include a wider face mask mandate that will extend to more public setting, including theatres and cinemas, and advice urging people to work from home where possible.
Downplaying support for the travel industry
However, Javid downplayed the likelihood of any fresh sector-specific support for travel, stating the best way to support the sector at this time would be to remove the recently reimposed restrictions on travel. These include the reintroduction of Day 2 PCR testing and of pre-departure testing.