The requirement for travellers to England to have a negative test result 72 hours prior to travelling, which was due to come into force on Friday 15 January will now come into force on Monday 18 January.

The test undertaken could be a PCR or lateral flow antigen test but must meet certain specified standards in terms of sensitivity, specificity and viral load.

The guidance, including a limited list of exemptions (for example, for travellers within the Common Travel Area) is available here:

Coronavirus (COVID-19): testing for people travelling to England - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Press release

The list of countries subject to stricter isolation requirements on return to the UK has now expanded beyond South Africa in order to contain the risk of a new variant spreading in the UK. Find out more.

Travel from South American destinations, Portugal, Panama and Cape Verde is also facing new restrictions due to concerns about a new COVID-19 variant. Press release.