(Bloomberg) -- All passengers arriving in the U.K. will be required to prove they do not have coronavirus, showing a negative test result taken within 72 hours of the start of their journey.
Under new rules announced by the British government, anyone failing to produce the evidence of a negative test will be hit with an immediate fine of 500 pounds ($678). Travelers arriving from countries that are not on the government’s open travel corridor list will be required to isolate at home for 10 days, regardless of their test results.
The measures, set out by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, will come into force next week for anyone arriving at a British port by plane, boat or train. The plan is aimed at preventing the spread of new strains of Covid-19 into the U.K., such as those seen in Denmark and South Africa, the government said.
“We already have significant measures in place to prevent imported cases of Covid-19, but with new strains of the virus developing internationally we must take further precautions,” Shapps said in an emailed statement. “Pre-departure tests will provide a further line of defense -- helping us control the virus as we roll out the vaccine at pace over the coming weeks.”
Ministers were criticized for taking too long to impose border restrictions during the first wave of the pandemic last spring. This week British authorities put the country into its third national lockdown as infection rates soared. The death toll from coronavirus now stands at more than 78,000.