All international passengers, including from Romania, will be required to present a negative COVID-19 test result before departing for England. The measure also applies to UK nationals, and those who fail to comply with the new regulations on pre-departure testing will be subject to an immediate fine of GBP 500.

“Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has announced that from next week inbound passengers arriving by boat, plane or train will have to take a test up to than 72 hours before departing the country they are in, to help protect against the new strains of coronavirus such as those seen in Denmark and South Africa,” the UK Department for Transport said in a press release. 

Passengers will be required to show their negative test result before boarding, and transport operators will deny boarding if necessary, the same source said. 

There will be a limited number of exemptions, including for hauliers, children under 11, crews and for those travelling from countries without the infrastructure available to deliver the tests, the British Embassy in Bucharest said on Facebook, adding that Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will introduce similar measures, with timing to be confirmed.

In addition, passengers arriving from Romania or other countries not on the UK Government’s Travel Corridor list must self-isolate for ten days regardless of their pre-departure test result “to provide further robust protection from those travelling from high-risk countries,” the UK Department for Transport also said.

“Taken together with the existing mandatory self-isolation period for passengers returning from high-risk countries, pre-departure tests will provide a further line of defence - helping us control the virus as we roll out the vaccine at pace over the coming weeks,” UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said. 

Passengers will still be required to fill in a Passenger Locator Form and be subject to UK national lockdown restrictions.

newsroom@romania-insider.com

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