Mandatory COVID-19 testing for inbound passengers to England
IMPORTANT NOTICE
Mandatory COVID-19 testing for inbound passengers to England
January 8th, 2021
Dear member/guest,
Coming into force next week, and following the announcement made today by the Department of Transport and the Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP, all international arrivals by boat, plane or train to England, including UK nationals, are required to present a negative COVID-19 test taken up to 72 hours prior to departure. The negative test result must be shown before boarding, and transport operators will deny boarding if necessary. The UK Border Force will conduct spot checks on arrival into England to ensure that passengers are fully compliant. There will be an immediate fine of £500 if they fail to comply with the new regulations on pre-departure testing.
We would also remind you that you will still be required to fill in a passenger locator form and be subject to national lockdown restrictions.
All of those arriving from Portugal will still be required to self-isolate for 10 days, regardless of test result.
Further details can be found on https://www.gov.uk/government/news/mandatory-covid-19-testing-introduced-to-bolster-border-measures
Should you wish to book a test before departing, there are several facilities which can do that. We can however recommend the Almancil Clinical Centre, located in R. do Calvário 19, 8135-100 Almancil (between the Nobre Passos pharmacy and Algarsuper). The centre can be reached through the following numbers: 289 390 870 / 914 392 590 / 934 843 019. Contact person: Sandra Sousa (receptionist).
The test to undertake is a PCR test, and is internationally accepted. The cost for this is €101 and the result will be delivered to you 24 hours after the test is done.
Please feel free to contact Reception should you need any help to book.
Any further changes will be advised as necessary.