The British government has announced that from April 5, travelers flying from mainland China will no longer need to provide proof of a negative pre-departure COVID-19 test upon arrival in England. Additionally, the UK Health Security Agency’s voluntary on-arrival testing program for travelers arriving from China to London’s Heathrow airport will come to an end on Friday. The government cited increased information sharing from China, covering testing, vaccination, and genomic sequencing results, as the reason for removing these measures. Temporary measures were introduced in January to help detect potential new variants circulating in China. The program has tested 3,374 people to date, with 14 positive cases identified, none of which were concerning variants. The latest international data indicates that the COVID-19 variants observed in China are the same as those already circulating in the UK.
England removes COVID-19 test requirement for China arrivals.
