New analyzes indicate that omicron has a shorter incubation time. Now the British authorities require a negative coronate test before entering the country.
Travelers to the UK must from Tuesday have a negative coronate test taken up to 48 hours before departure.
The tightening will take effect on Tuesday and applies regardless of vaccination status, Minister of Health Sajid Javid said on Saturday night.
Shorter incubation time
The new rules are introduced after new data on the mutation, which was first identified in South Africa last week, writer Sky News.
– New analyzes carried out by the UK Health and Security Agency suggest that omikron has a shorter window between infection and infectivity than previous variants, according to British health authorities.
If the mutation has a reduced incubation time, it will be more likely to identify infection for departure.
On Saturday night, it was therefore decided that travelers must take a corona test before entering the country.
– Given the reduced incubation time, passengers are advised to take the test as close to departure as possible.
Tightens up for Nigeria
Today’s rules dictate that visitors must go in self-isolation until they test negative within two days of arrival. At the same time, very strict rules are introduced for arrivals from Nigeria.
26 new omicron cases have been detected in England. Most can be linked to South Africa, but more also to Nigeria, according to the Minister of Health.
– In recent days, we have learned about a significant number of cases related to travel from Nigeria, he says.
The government has been under pressure over the past week to tighten the rules further to curb the spread of the new corona variant. From Monday, only British and Irish nationals will be allowed to enter the UK from Nigeria. They must be isolated in a state-run quarantine hotel.
A total of 160 cases of omicron have been detected in the UK so far.
On Saturday, British authorities reported 42,848 new corona cases and 127 deaths in the last 24 hours. The United Kingdom has registered just over 460 cases of infection per 100,000 inhabitants in the last seven days, writes NTB.
On Monday, it was announced that everyone over 18 in the UK will be offered a third dose of vaccine. According to Sky News, more than a million Britons have booked an appointment for a booster dose of the corona vaccine. More than 16.2 million new doses have been delivered to England since the NHS rolled out its booster program in September.
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