During a recent visit to the UK, my family encountered a glaring problem with the current structure of UK entry testing requirements.
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UK Entry Requirements
Regardless of vaccination status, all entrants to the United Kingdom (UK) must supply a negative PCR test result 48 hours prior to the beginning of their trip. All travelers must then supply, at minimum, a second negative test result two days following their arrival (the day you land = Day 0, two days following the day you land = Day 2.)
Travelers with approved vaccines that qualify as fully vaccinated may be done testing at Day 2 as are children under 12. Unvaccinated travelers must submit another test on Day 8, or they can “test to release” on Day 5 to stop self-isolating but must still complete a Day 8 test. All travelers must complete a passenger locator form and commit to following quarantine rules for the prescribed isolation period (specific to their situation) in the event that they test positive on a (coronavirus) COVID-19 test.
Different nations within the UK (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales) may have separate travel rules as may the cities within them. For my purposes, we entered the UK in London, England, and remained in England throughout the 14 days of our December 2021 visit. I came in from the United States which is not a “red list” country.
The Issue
No, it’s not the cost of testing (advertised at £15 but truly, the cheapest outside of certain areas of London ranges from £55-159/person.) The issue is despite obsessively testing, a false positive is almost accepted as gospel and the subsequent negatives ignored. We had this experience on our trip. Rigorous testing of all of us led to as many as 7 tests in a 14-day period for one of the three of us; less but nearly as much for the rest of us.
The problem isn’t the false positive. That happens (though false negatives are statistically much less likely.) We can be certain it was a false positive by both testing and logic. If a group of three cohabitating travelers has 15+ negative tests in a 14-day period and one positive from just one member in the middle (with many tests after declaring negative for COVID) – it’s a false positive.
The issue is that there’s a lot of damage and not a lot of remediation for a false positive. There should be an easy process to demonstrate that and reduce the hassle for the visitor as well as the already strained public services and servants. There’s no such process at this point and that has a cascading effect on the traveler and the public system at large.
Only Affects Good Actors, The Ones Following The Rules
Unfortunately, despite holding several negative test results and essentially proving the false positive, the damage is done. The government is notified and a call is received (under the penalty of criminal activity) whereby the traveler must disclose whomever they have come in contact, and wherever they may have been during the period. One condition of UK entry, COVID follow-ups may be done in person as well. We would have welcomed that because we could have expedited ratification of the incorrect test result.
In our specific case, the member of our party self-isolated and took lateral flow tests right away the day the positive came back as well as the next day following protocol. These tests were available to us over the counter and did not require the affected traveler to leave self-isolation. This satisfied the requirements for the UK and any lingering concern on the part of our party but did nothing for all of the members of the public that had to be contacted and tested despite knowing and proving that they had not been exposed by one of us.
That adversely affects the people and places for which we’ve come into contact and frankly, the taxpayers of the United Kingdom who fund the NHS and pay for these tests.
It also puts undue harassment on the party with the false positive, skews numbers (both positive results, severity, hospitalizations, and mortality), and taxes the systems in place to deal with true positive cases.
What’s worse, the people who are most adversely affected are those good actors who follow the protocols. Some may have taken that follow-up test, determined they were not a risk, and not disclosed who they met or where they went, they might not have self-isolated either. Any system for which only the good actors are punished is a bad system.
Conclusion
We were fortunate to prove and know that we did not actually come into contact with omicron or COVID-19 more broadly while in the UK. However, the lack of an ombudsman or alternative false-positive process adds unneeded cost and hassle to people and systems already beleaguered by a pandemic that’s now stretched more than two years. This is a problem that should be corrected right away to allow resources to be placed on genuine cases and reduce the workload for others.
What do you think? How does the UK improve this process? Have you experienced a false positive in the UK?
FYI the day 2 test can be done any time before day 2 as well. Best idea is to do it as soon as landing so can be release from isolation as soon as results come back
If you’re vaccinated the whole ordeal is much easier, so yes, this is a headache for unvaccinated travelers, but having to take fewer tests means fewer opportunities for false positives.
I intend to visit friends in the UK as a side trip to the EU. I will be in the UK for two nights and three days. I am fully vaccinated and have had the booster. I will have had a PCR test within 48 hours, but then I have to take another test? Plus one more when I fly back to the EU? Excuse me while I grumble.
I am not looking for answers or sympathy, but if the UK suffers a loss of tourists while the EU *doesn’t* I will not be surprised.
You will need to book and pay for the test, whether you take it or not is up to you!
The whole situation in the UK is chaotic and seems more set up by Johnsone (Trump minor) and his cronies to keep forcing people who stand less chance of having covid than the average UK citizen to keep testing, testing and testing.
As a UK citizen I’m embarrassed by it all but please do come, the welcome from us Brits is still warm and genuine.
The first paragraph in the UK Testing Requirements section just abruptly ends. Mid sentence. Mid thought. What were you trying to say?
The UK still lives in the Stone Age.
Some people have a lot more tenacity than I do. So many COVID hoops to jump through currently I wouldn’t try to leave the US at this time. I can make my own fun just about anywhere so to those of you heading abroad right now I say Good Luck to you (sincerely!) but don’t complain when the bureaucratic nonsense throws a curveball at you. (Now who has the best fares to DAY from STL next month…?)
This has been the case for months, Kyle. No big surprises here. And in your case it’s part of the game if you choose to travel with group/family to the UK. Not sure why any of this is a big surprise as you knew the risks going in. We all weight the risk/reward and that’s the price of admission over the past year in varying places. Welcome aboard.
How is this a “glaring problem?” It’s very strict to the point that ANY positive test, even if it may be a false positive, is treated as a positive case for the purposes of public health. Just because our own personal “logic” tells us we should be exempt from clearly stated rules doesn’t mean there is a problem. It’s like that for a reason. If they start making allowances for whatever someone defines as likely false positives, then actual positive cases will slip through.
Just because it is an inconvenience for you doesn’t mean it is a glaring problem.
It is very unclear what this article is even about.. ?
It’s a PCR test or an Antigen test, and it’s within 2 days of beginning your journey to the UK, not within 48 hours.
That said, the UK rules are ridiculously onerous if you’re fully vaccinated and clearly don’t work, given that we have one of the highest death rates in the world.
My problem on entering Scotland was in order to finish filling out the government locator forms needed for landing we had to pay 60 pounds) and get a reference number for the paid test for Day 2 via the National Health Service! Apparently the tourists are funding their socialized healthcare system! On arrival to our hotel there were Purple envelopes waiting for us for day 2 tests to be mailed to the NHS system via the-Royal postal service. When I opened the envelopes it needed. Much more information and registration to document the test. So they were mailed off on Day2 but we were leaving on DAY 3 and needed another test within 24 hours of returning to the US. I could not know when the results would get to us demo the NHS so off to a pharmacy to get another 48 Pound PCR test for all of us that would have results in 5 hours! Luckily they all came back negative and the results were cheeked at EDI airport and AMS. Crazy stuff and $$$
Excellent post!
False positives that cannot be proven to be false are another weakness in this, which is gradually revealing itself to be a political grandstanding self serving international charade that unfortunately is causing irreversible damage in many spheres.
Well said.
The UK is currently ruled by about 100 hard right MPs who probably thought Trump a wet liberal. They have an inordinate amount of power over the ruling party and are exercising it.
The testing regime is totally broken and utterly ridiculous and it’s an embarrassment to look at it compared to anywhere else in the world and all the more stupid because there is currently a belief that 1:20 people in the UK would test positive so you have far more chance of catching it here than bringing it in.
As ever with a corrupt regime, on arrival you have to prove that you have paid for the required tests, there is absolutely no follow up to determine whether you have taken the test or not….
Before arrival, an antigen test is fine, you don’t need a PCR and the antigen test does not currently have to be supervised.
What’s the issue here? Not clear whether you’re more upset about the contact tracing or the false positive.
Yes the contact tracing is a pain but it’s not particularly onerous for an identified contact (I was one during my Christmas visit and just had an online form to complete). If you’re vaccinated there’s no isolation requirement and you can just do rapid tests for a week (but not obligated to do so).
There’s no perfect system and sadly this is one of the additional risks of travel right now. As an aside, the criminal penalty relates to giving false information or failing to isolate when required to do so. There is no obligation to answer the call from the contact tracers so you could have just ignored it.
Also – the beginning of the article is incorrect as it relates to testing requirements. The pre departure test does not need to be PCR as you have stated – only the “Day 2” arrival test has to be PCR currently.
You do not require a PCR test 48 hours before departure to the UK, it can be an antigen (lateral flow) test, which are far cheaper and faster. The day two tests (and subsequent if you are unvaccinated) after arrival should be PCR.
I’m a touch unclear on what the complaint here is beyond general frustration with travel… just about every country has a form of testing requirement, and I don’t know of any country that offers compensation or allowances for false positives?