UK authorities ease COVID testing requirements amid surge
ABC News
Health authorities across the U.K. have simplified COVID-19 testing requirements in a move designed to cut isolation times for many people
LONDON -- Health authorities across the U.K. simplified COVID-19 testing requirements on Wednesday, a move designed to cut isolation times for many people and that may ease the staffing shortages that are hitting public services from hospitals to garbage collection amid an omicron-fueled surge in infections.
In another effort to bolster the economy, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the House of Commons that pre-departure tests for people traveling to England will no longer be required because the omicron variant is so prevalent that travel restrictions meant to contain its spread are now meaningless. The tests had discouraged people from traveling overseas for fear they would get stuck abroad.
The moves came as the Cabinet backed Johnson's decision not to impose any further restrictions despite record COVID-19 infection levels. With indications that omicron is less severe than earlier variants and widespread vaccination curtailing serious illnesses, the government is sticking with light-touch controls imposed in mid-December.
“All these measures are balanced and proportionate ways of ensuring we can live with COVID without letting our guard down," Johnson told lawmakers.
