The travel quarantine period could be relaxed in two weeks so families can visit loved ones abroad for Christmas, according to reports.
Blanket restrictions, which currently force Britons to self-isolate for a fortnight after returning from high-risk countries, could be scrapped in as little as two weeks.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is reportedly set to announce today that self-isolation will be slashed from 14 days to five if travellers test negative five days after arriving in the UK.
As part of a sweeping Downing Street shake-up of coronavirus restrictions, the new travel rules could come into effect in mid-December, according to reports.
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The so-called ‘test and release’ scheme will see holidaymakers out of quarantine the minute they receive a negative test result. Fast-turnaround tests, which can return a result in less than an hour, are set to be used.
The move will come as a relief for the hard-hit aviation industry which has long called for the travel quarantine to be axed and replaced with airport testing schemes, to encourage more to take trips abroad.
Heathrow became the first airport to launch its own testing facility last month, while Gatwick is set to open one before December offering next-day results.
A Whitehall source told the Daily Mail: ‘We are keen to get people flying again when it is safe to do so, and the Prime Minister is particularly concerned about the impact we have seen on business travel.
‘Cutting the quarantine time from 14 days to five has the potential to make a huge difference.’
The two-week self-isolation period for close contacts of those who test positive for the virus could also be scrapped and will instead be offered a test every day for a week. They will reportedly not need to isolate unless they too test positive.
No 10 announced that a pilot will launch in Liverpool today, which has been subject to a mass-testing trial that will be rolled out across other high-risk areas when the nation leaves lockdown on December 2.
It comes as the Government confirmed that extended families will be allowed to spend Christmas together as part of plans to relax rules over the festive period.
The prime minister will announce the full details of the Christmas restrictions but he and devolved leaders have agreed to a partial lifting ‘for a small number of days’ with ‘limited household bubbling’.
However, ministers ‘reiterated the importance of allowing families and friends to meet in a careful and limited way, while recognising that this will not be a normal festive period and the risks of transmission remain very real’.
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