The Day 2 test loophole
Disreputable travellers have for months been getting around the requirement for a Day 2 test by simply inputting old PCR test codes onto their Passenger Locator Form. The form is the only point at which a person is requested to show proof they have purchased a test before entering the country.
But it has been an open secret all year among regular travellers that the same test codes can be reused on multiple occasions as those operating the system do not cross-reference them against the books of private testing companies. Only recently have authorities, following checks by The Laboratory and Testing Industry Organisation, been made aware.
The problem with pre-departure testing
As with the Day 2 test, pre-departure checks are open to abuse. Instead of visiting a clinic in person, one can take a test kit away with them and then self-administer it, sometimes while on a video call with a health professional. However, other companies allow you to simply upload a photograph of the completed test to an app for verification. Needless to say this isn’t exactly a foolproof – or fraud-proof – system.
The never-ending list of exemptions
If these restrictions are an essential tool for keeping us safe, why is the list of jobs that “qualify for travel exemptions” as long as your arm? How – pray tell – will the rules keep omicron out when quarantine and testing is not required for aircraft crew, bus and coach drivers, civil aviation inspectors, Channel Tunnel workers, defence personnel, diplomats, drivers of goods vehicles, rail staff and port workers, among others?
NHS tests are free – why not travel tests?
Any time you fancy, you can visit the NHS website, or waltz into your local pharmacy, and blag a free jumbo pack of lateral flow tests. You don’t even need to use them. If you were so inclined, they could go straight in the bin.
Of course these tests aren’t really free. The Government is spending tens of billions on them, and this will inevitably be paid back in the form of higher taxes. But if our leaders are willing to subsidise somebody who fancies taking a test to see their gran, to go to the football, or just to pop to the Post Office, why not travellers? They are pumping money into the economy, after all. It is equally logical.
The waiting game
Under the current rules, returning travellers must stay at home until they receive the results of their Day 2 test. But once you’ve paid the testing company their money, there is very little incentive for them to hurry back with the good (or bad) news. Indeed, Twitter is awash with tales of long delays (often lasting several days) forcing people to stay at home or – if caught – face a hefty fine (not that much is being done to enforce the isolation period, of course). This further hinders Britain’s economic recovery, as people cannot spend money in restaurants or shops. If the Day 2 test isn’t scrapped, testing companies must face consequences for being tardy.
Confusion over the pre-departure testing deadline
The Government is continuing to issue conflicting advice over when Britons need to take their pre-departure test, even after the new rules have come into force. Its website, on some pages, says the tests should be taken “not more than 48 hours before” departure, but on others the deadline is “in the 2 days before your service to England departs”.
It could be worse
Perhaps we can take some solace in the fact that we’re not copying Canada, which – for some inexplicable reason – won’t accept negative tests conducted in Africa as proof that its citizens are Covid-free. Apparently nobody told them that the continent has laboratories to rival the best in the world. Instead, Canadians returning from the region must fly to a third country, get tested, and then board another flight to Canada. That’s science for you.
