The UK Government has committed to try to reduce the costs
of Covid tests related to international travel.
In a report from the global travel taskforce submitted by transport secretary Grant Shapps to
Prime Minister Boris Johnson today, the UK government said it recognised that the cost of Covid tests can
be high.
It said, “We will work with the travel industry and private
testing providers ahead of international travel reopening to see how we can
further reduce the cost of travel for the British public while ensuring travel
is as safe as possible. This could include cheaper tests being used when [travellers]
return home, as well as whether the government would be able to provide
pre-departure tests.”
Scott Davies, CEO ITM said: “The
government’s pledge to halve the cost of coronavirus tests required before and
after travel, won’t make a huge difference in terms of business travellers, as
most travel managers see testing as a justifiable cost for companies to reduce
quarantine time and enable them to resume business travel."
One clinical testing company said that if the Government planned to replace "gold-standard" PCR tests with cheaper, rapid flow tests this was "frankly astonishing".
Ben Paglia, MD of Akea Life, which provides services at Liverpool John Lennon Airport, said: “After we have made such incredible progress with the vaccination programme rollout – and the incredible hardships and sacrifices many people have had to make in lockdown – why would the Government drop its guard now and risk a potential third outbreak and a rise in infections? All it takes is for one person to have a false test result using a lateral flow kit and an entire plane of several hundred people could be at risk."
“The Government’s suggestion to allow airline passengers to also potentially administer their own lateral flow tests would also set a very dangerous precedent and hinder the accuracy of results. The number of false negatives can increase significantly simply due to the lack of understanding people will have in testing themselves. This in itself can also lead to the ‘false reassurance’ that a person is ‘negative’ when in fact they may be positive or asymptomatic but carrying the virus. We know that when the tests are administered by trained healthcare professionals, the results accuracy will increase significantly. This is why the tests are indicated for healthcare professional use only.”
In the report, the Government also committed to “play a leading role in
development of international standards around a digital travel certification
system” and said the NHS is developing digital and non-digital solution for
individuals to demonstrate Covid status.
It also said it was going to explore the feasibility of
bilateral pilots for testing initiatives such as digital solutions on
particular routes, or with other countries and recognised that some countries would
“require proof of vaccination status [as] a condition of travel”.