London, Europe Brief News – UK authorities imposed new restrictions on people arriving in the UK from China.
Chinese travellers to London will not be required to self-isolate if they test positive for Covid-19.
Covid cases in China continue to surge after Beijing’s abrupt decision to end most of its severe pandemic restrictions.
The UK government has said airlines will be required to check that passengers from China have a negative Covid test before departure, with travellers required to show evidence of their negative result. The UK Health Security Agency will also initiate surveillance from 8 January in which a sample of passengers arriving in England from China will be tested for the virus as they arrive.
The decision will affect England only, because travel is a devolved matter. However, all direct flights from China land in England.
The order is designed to align with US policy, and is being made because the government believes there is a lack of reliable data from China.
Asked on Tuesday if travellers arriving in the UK from China who tested positive for Covid would be required to quarantine, the transport secretary, Mark Harper, told LBC: “No, because what we are doing is we are collecting that information for surveillance purposes.
