British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, on Thursday told the parliament that beginning from Friday, the government will scrap the condition to self-isolate on arrival until receipt of a negative polymerase chain reaction test is received.
The United Kingdom assured Nigerians and other people travelling to its cities that with the new policy, they will no longer have to worry or go through the hassles of COVID-19 tests in the country.
According to the British PM, the pre-departure test “discourages many travelling for fear of being trapped overseas and incurring significant extra expense”.
Johnson, however, said instead, a negative lateral flow test will be acceptable as has been in use since October 2021 to help check for COVID-19 infection.
Research has revealed that rapid tests are a reliable test for COVID-19. Unlike the PCR, they give a quick result and do not need to be sent to a lab.
But the rate of Omicron infections has spiked lately in the UK with the area recording 194,747 new cases and 334 further deaths as at noon yesterday.
The figure for new cases is more than 20,000 below the record figure recorded on Tuesday (218,724), but still the second highest figure on record.
But the total number of new cases over the past week is now 40.1 per cent up on the previous week.