Millions of British holidaymakers admit to breaking the rules when travelling abroad despite the government guidelines currently in place.
A new study found that 48% of travellers have broken some of the Covid-19 rules, with 21% saying they didn’t quarantine on their return according to research by Well Pharmacy, the UK’s largest independent pharmacy chain.
These figures come as 60% of Brits say the current restrictions regarding travel aboard still confuse them, which may explain why the rules are not being followed properly. 35-44s (69%) report being the most confused by the rules.
Half of all travellers say they do not understand what tests they need to take when travelling to either green or amber countries. And one in three have no idea what a PCR test actually is – the lab-tested swabs needed for foreign travel.
As a result of the confusion over these travel rules and which tests need to be taken before travel, 82% of Brits report that they have not been abroad since before March 2020, when the first lockdown began.
Currently the majority of destinations require holidaymakers to take a pre-departure Covid-19 test, though these rules may vary for those who are double vaccinated.
On returning to the UK from green and amber destinations, travellers are then required to take a PCR test on or before day two of their return, those who are double jabbed would not need to quarantine unless they receive a positive result. Those returning from red-listed countries, would also need to take a second PCR test on day 8 of their quarantine.
Gillian Stone, Deputy Superintendent from Well Pharmacy said: “The research shows that there is still a lot of confusion when it comes to international travel. Following the government rules and guidelines will keep us all safe and the traffic light system is in place for a reason, to stop the spread of the virus and ultimately save lives.
“Understandably there is a lot of pent-up demand for people to go on holiday. As international travel has started to resume, we want to make it as easy as possible for our customers to order the Covid PCR tests they need so they can enjoy their much needed and much deserved holiday.”
In a bid to take the confusion out of the international travel rules, Well Pharmacy offers green and amber travel packages as well as individual Covid PCR tests on their website, for more information visit: https://www.well.co.uk/coronavirus-testing/home-test-kit
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