Prime Minister Boris Johnson scaled back restrictions on people traveling to England on Wednesday as the Omicron variant appears to be so widespread that measures tightened in November can no longer stem the spread.
Travelers will no longer need to take a test before they travel, Mr. Johnson said in a statement to Parliament. He said that they need to take a rapid test within two days of arrival. The government won't require a more expensive test as of Sunday.
The changes were welcomed by the aviation industry.
Mr. Johnson defended the travel restrictions put in place in late November, when the Omicron variant was first identified, as necessary to slow its arrival.
He said that the measures are having limited impact on the growth of cases, while posing significant costs to the travel industry.
Britain reverted to the same rules it had in October after the decision was announced. Unvaccinated passengers will still have to take a pre-departure test and self-isolate on arrival for 10 days in order to be free of tetanus.
There were almost 200,000 daily cases in the U.K., which is close to the record of 218,724 cases announced on Tuesday.
Wales said it would follow Mr. Johnson's announcement and Scotland and Northern Ireland are expected to do the same.
The relaxed rules were a huge welcome move at a critical time in the booking season for passengers, said Tim Alderslade, chief executive officer of Airlines UK.
He said that the change would give a huge boost to people wanting to come to the U.K. this year. People will be able to book knowing that emergency testing restrictions have been removed.
