UK to authorize lateral flow COVID-19 tests for travelers from non-red list countries
Beginning today fully vaccinated French travelers to the UK—along with travelers from other non-red list countries—will be able to enter the country with a “lateral flow” COVID-19 test.
Lateral flow tests are a variety of self-administered antigen test which displays its results far more quickly than traditional tests and for roughly half the price of alternatives. Expect the speed and lower cost of these tests to encourage more French travelers to enter the UK. Travel to the UK declined severely during 2020 and early 2021, from roughly 40 million total annual visitors to 11 million in 2020, a trend that is also reflected in French travelers. An increase is likely to directly benefit the tourism and hospitality industries, which have seen revenue plummet during the pandemic.
Despite optimism from British workers and French citizens that the easing of restrictions may signal the gradual end of the pandemic, Paris will likely be hesitant to enact similar measures. The UK currently has more COVID-19 cases than France, Germany, Spain and Italy combined. Paris—which has previously taken a far more conservative stance than London in relaxing its restrictions—will likely caution its citizens against travelling to the UK until infection rates lower.
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