Please see the following information. Some detail provided will change with time, but the .GOV links provided should remain up to date. Regulations are changing rapidly, check carefully with reputable sources.
Many international travellers are taking advantage of ‘test to release’. This is a process where travellers can reduce their self-isolation/quarantine period from 10 to 5 days following an additional negative PCR test.
Although travel corridors into the UK have now shut, the option to reduce your self-isolation period remains. For those taking essential travel for work or personal matters, such as bereavement, and have a need to return to work these are essential tests.
Any company providing Test to Release must do so through a provider who is listed by the Government as a ‘Private providers of coronavirus testing’.
Global Health Clinics use several providers. Check with your nearest clinic to see which provider they use.
At Global Health Travel Clinic in Longcross, Chertsey, we work closely with the Halo laboratory.
When registering use this lab as your provider. A booking reference number is required. Use the GFXC number on you test if you have the test reference otherwise use the reference GFXC combined with the date of your appointment. Your clinic will supply any details required.
The Test to Release scheme is not available to anyone who has been in or through any country that is subject to a travel ban in the 10 days before arrival in England.
If you arrive in England and have been somewhere that is subject to a travel ban during the last 10 days, you must complete a passenger locator form and self-isolate along with members of your household.
We would always encourage our patients to fully comply with the self-isolation rules for the required periods, Test to Release or not. Further, take additional steps not to pass any potential infection to any contacts or family members if close contact is unavoidable.
How to self-isolate when you travel to England;
The Test to Release scheme is for people who need to self-isolate on arrival in England. You don’t need to self-isolate if your job is listed as being exempt from the requirement to self-isolate.
For full details of Test to Release see;
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-test-to-release-for-international-travel