Families planning overseas travel may have to pay £600 for Covid tests

A FAMILY planning an overseas travel this summer may end up paying £600 for Covid tests.

UK government has introduced a traffic light system where a traveller is required to take at least two Covid-19 tests. The first test 72 hours before boarding a UK-bound flight while the second two days after landing in the country.

The second one would be to check if the passenger had not picked any mutant strain.

Countries will be graded green, amber or red depending on their vaccination rates and Covid caseload.

According to a report in the Evening Standard, the pre-departure Covid test for a family of four could cost £400, and the one after arrival could add up to £200.

The cost could add up to few hundred pounds with holiday destinations also requiring tests from British tourists.

The Daily Telegraph on Saturday (2) reported that travellers having had taken two does of the vaccine would need fewer tests after returning from low-risk countries, and may have to quarantine for 10 days following stays in medium-risk countries.

On Friday, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Kenya and the Philippines were added to the government’s travel ban “red list” bringing the total number to 39.

Passengers arriving from or transiting through the four countries are barred unless they are British or Irish nationals or UK residents.

Those nationals exempt from the ban will have to quarantine in a government-approved hotel for 10 days upon arrival.