Covid tests for China travellers to England to end

Covid testing for travellers coming to England from China will end, the UK government has announced.

On-arrival testing was introduced in January to try to help detect any new variants arriving from China.

The government said an average of 99 people per flight had been tested, totalling 3,374 passengers.

During that period, 14 positive cases were identified, but none was deemed to be a variant of concern.

The Department of Health and Social Care said that from Friday, 17 March "passengers aged 18 or over travelling from mainland China and arriving at Heathrow Airport will no longer be invited to take a voluntary test on arrival".

It added that from 5 April, no-one flying from China to the UK will need a negative pre-departure test.