LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th January, 2021) UK minister for Transport Grant Shapps announced on Thursday that the negative COVID-19 test result all travelers will be required to present before departing from England will come into force on Monday, three day later than initially planned, to give passengers time to prepare.
"UPDATE: To give international arrivals time to prepare passengers will be required to provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test before departure to England from MONDAY 18 JANUARY at 4am (04:00 GMT)," Shapps wrote on his Twitter account.
On January 8, the UK�s Department for Transport said that from January 15, all travelers, including UK citizens, arriving in England from all international destinations would have to present a negative COVID-19 test taken up to 72 hours prior to departure.
Passengers who fail to comply with the new regulation on pre-departure testing will be subject to a �500 ($677) fine upon their arrival in England by boat, plane or train.
Those traveling from countries not included in the government's safe travel corridor list must also isolate for 10 days regardless of their test result.
The announcement of the delay prompted criticism from Twitter users who think the new regulation must be enforced on Friday as it was previously planned.
"Do it now for goodness sake. The death toll is climbing too rapidly, cases are rising yet you lot clearly dont care," wrote a user, with another warning that "thousands" of people will rush to get into the UK before the new deadline.
As of Wednesday, the UK had recorded over 3,2 million COVID-19 positive cases and 84,767 deaths since the pandemic began.
