THE United Kingdom has announced that it has imposed a £500 fine on any passenger who fails to adhere to new regulations on pre-departure testing.
The British High Commission in Nigeria, who made the disclosure in a statement on Monday, said international arrivals were now required to provide negative COVID-19 test results before departure for England.
It added that passengers arriving from countries not on the government’s travel corridor list would still be required to self-isolate for 10 days, regardless of the test result.
The UK stated that all international travellers to England, including UK nationals, had to present a negative COVID-19 test taken up to 72 hours before departure.
This followed the recent decision to temporarily suspend direct travel from South Africa and 11 other African countries to England after new evidence emerged from health authorities reporting an outbreak of a variant of coronavirus spreading to some local communities.
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“Passengers will be subject to an immediate fine of £500 if they fail to comply with the new regulations on pre-departure testing,” the British High Commission in Nigeria stressed.
The UK explained that passengers would still be required to fill in a passenger locator form and subject to national lockdown restrictions.
The UK Border Force will conduct spot checks on arrival into England to ensure that passengers are fully compliant.
The commission noted that the new regulations announced on Sunday were in response to the changes seen in the transmission of the virus both domestically and across the globe.
