image credit: Reuters At Heathrow Airport, two of the world’s largest airlines will test fast-track lanes for fully-vaccinated passengers. Passengers from certain countries will be able to upload their immunization status prior to boarding under the scheme. The trial by British Airways and Virgin Atlantic comes as the aviation sector lobbies for visa-free travel to the UK from nations on the lower-risk amber list. This week, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps is expected to announce such a plan. Expert advises caution when it comes to the double-jab exemption. Some businesses still require employees to wear face masks. Heathrow Airport now has a red list terminal. The move comes only days after the UK government declared that, effective of July 19, most lockdown measures in England would be lifted. Mr Shapps will brief MPs on international travel and remove “the necessity for fully-vaccinated visitors to isolate when they return from an amber list country,” Health Secretary Sajid Javid said earlier this week. However, as the number of cases in the UK continues to climb, health experts have stated that no vaccination is 100% effective. The amber list now includes the majority of popular vacation spots, requiring travellers to isolate for up to ten days upon their return to the UK. Passengers who are completely vaccinated and flying to Heathrow from Athens, Los Angeles, Montego Bay, or New York will be able to produce confirmation of their vaccination status during the trial, which begins this weekend. Participants will have access to a special arrivals lane at the UK border. The study is intended to “reassure” the government that airlines and airports can check immunization status away from the border, reducing the strain on UK immigration halls. The NHS app, CDC card, US state-level digital certification, and EU digital Covid certificate are among the internationally recognized vaccination credentials that will be accepted in the trial. From July 19, Heathrow Airport’s chief executive, John Holland-Kaye, said the trial scheme would “enable us to demonstrate that pre-departure and arrival checks of vaccination status can be carried out safely at check in, so that fully vaccinated travellers can escape quarantine.” Sean Doyle, the chief executive and chairman of British Airways, stated that he was “confident” that the trial would be successful. “We look forward to delivering the data that demonstrates how easy it is to verify fully vaccinated status, and to the Government fulfilling its commitment to get the country functioning again,” he said. The trial, according to Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss, will show the industry’s readiness to “rapidly operationalize the new policy, and work with government and authorities to ensure it is smoothly implemented at pace, supporting the reopening of the transatlantic corridor, without which the UK economy loses £23 million every day.” The firms said in a joint statement that the UK “lead the globe with its successful vaccine program,” but that it was “failing to reap the economic and social gains” of other countries that admit fully-vaccinated persons without having to quarantine them. Meanwhile, in England, a self-isolation rule modification for fully vaccinated adults has been postponed until August 16, causing worry among some Tory MPs and businesses. People in England who have received two doses of a coronavirus vaccine will no longer be required to self-isolate if a close contact tests positive for Covid after that date. The move, according to industry association UK Hospitality, comes too late – and highlights the “carnage” created by the current system, which forces bar and restaurant workers to self-isolate “unnecessarily.” Sir Iain Duncan Smith, a former Tory leader, told the Telegraph: “Why would you go to a bar after the lockdown is lifted (step four)? This aggravates the situation.” “I wouldn’t go to a pub where there weren’t still six people at a table and social distancing, since else everyone in the pub would be pinged and locked down.” Another 28,773 instances were announced in the UK on Tuesday, along with 37 fatalities within 28 days after a positive test. Over the summer, according to Health Secretary Sajid Javid, the number of new illnesses might reach 100,000 per day. Virgin Atlantic is a British airline that flies Pandemic of Coronavirus Tests for Coronavirus Vaccines against the Coronavirus Traveling by plane Passports for vaccines Heathrow Airport is located in London, United Kingdom. British Airways is a British airline./n
Read More
