UK: Travelers are required to undergo PCR testing two days after entering the country and use of masks is extended

The British Prime Minister announced on Saturday at a press conference after two cases of the Omicron variant were detected in the country, the UK will require visitors to get tested for covid on the second day after their arrival.

Boris Johnson said concretely: “We will require everyone entering the UK to do a PCR report at the end of the second day after they arrive and isolate themselves until the result is negative.”

Among the new measures to contain the coronavirus introduced are the mandatory use of masks indoors and on public transport, as well as 10-day self-isolation by all people who have been in contact with the Omicron variant, regardless of whether they are or not. to feed.

Boris Johnson, who before the summer lifted all restrictions in England, stressed at the press conference the importance of “buying time” by reducing infection until experts determine the effect of the new alternative, which, he said, “seems to transmit very quickly” and “between people” With full vaccinations.

Earlier today, the British Ministry of Health announced the discovery of two cases of the new SARS-CoV-2 virus in people “related to a trip to South Africa”.

British Health Security Agency [UKHSA, na sigla em inglês] She confirmed that two cases of COVID-19 with mutations compatible with B.1.1.529 have been identified in the UK.”

The note adds that the areas affected are the area of ​​Chelmsford, in the county of Essex, near London, and the city of Nottingham, in central England.

British Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced that four more countries are now on the list of territories whose residents, as of 04:00 GMT on Sunday (same time in Lisbon), cannot travel to the UK (unless they are British citizens) and must Observe the quarantine in a particular hotel).

On Friday, British authorities included in the “red list” South Africa – where the new variant was discovered – Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho and Eswatini, now joined by Angola, Mozambique, Malawi and Zambia.