The UK government could remove the requirement for fully vaccinated travellers to take any Covid-19 tests within the next few weeks.
Currently, travellers returning to England are required to take a lateral flow or antigen test on day two, with anybody testing positive for Covid having to self-isolate for 10 days.
But according to a report in The Sunday Times, transport secretary Grant Shapps is considering ending this requirement imminently.
“We are looking at removing all Covid tests for vaccinated travellers by the end of January, which is likely to coincide with the review of the plan B measures on January 26," a source “close to” Shapps told the newspaper.
An announcement on scrapping day two tests for fully vaccinated travellers is expected on or around 26 January.
This is the same day that prime minister Boris Johnson is likely to lift the current plan B restrictions in England, which were implemented last month to try to curb the spread of the Omicron variant and include guidance to work from home, if possible.
Earlier this month, Shapps said he wanted to “stabilise” the system for international travel for the rest of 2022. The government plans to announce its “thoughts” about how to do this before the end of January.
Removing the requirement for a day two test would be another major boost for business travel, following the scrapping of pre-departure tests for travellers arriving in the UK earlier this month.