(CMR) As the UK continues to deal with the rapid spread of the coronavirus, England will now require travelers to have a negative COVID-19 test.
Initially, the rules will only apply to England, but Wales, Northern Ireland, and Scotland are also set to implement similar rules soon.
The new rules, which the Department of Transport said come into effect early next week, will apply to returning UK nationals as well as foreign nationals.
Passengers will be required to produce a negative test result taken less than 72 hours before boarding planes, boats, or trains to the UK and could be fined £500 if they fail to comply.
People will still need to quarantine for 10 days, even with a negative test, unless they come from one of the countries listed as low-risk by the government.
Travelers will have the option to reduce their quarantine period to five days by paying for another test on or after their fifth full day of being in the UK.
The policy is expected to help prevent the spread of new variants of COVID-19, such as those found in Denmark and South Africa.
Travelers will also need to fill in a Passenger Locator Form and abide by the current lockdown restrictions.
The new rules come weeks after a new variant of COVID-19 was discovered in the UK, forcing many countries to implement travel restrictions against the UK.
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