Welsh Government confirms international travel changes and calls for PCR test retention

The green and amber travel will be merged into one and the requirement for pre-departure testing for those fully vaccinated will be removed, the Welsh Government have confirmed.

The changes are intended to be made by October 4th in alignment with the new UK Government system.

A decision on moving away from PCR tests is still to be made but the Welsh Government has outlined its opposition to the change and is calling on the UK Government to reverse its decision.

Eluned Morgan, Minister for Health and Social Services, said: “We have regularly called for a careful approach to international travel to prevent coronavirus being re-imported into the UK, especially new and emerging variants which may not respond to the vaccines.

“The decision to move away from PCR tests from returning travellers on day two is concerning. This test, combined with genetic sequencing of all positive tests, is a vital part of our surveillance for coronavirus and protects our borders from the virus.

“We recognise the communication and enforcement challenges in having different testing requirements, and continue to thoroughly examine the evidence for a Wales-only testing regime, but the strongest solution to protect public health is for the UK Government to reinstate UK-wide testing.”

The Welsh Government is also considering which countries to expand the vaccine certification recognition system to over the coming weeks.