People travelling to England from Ireland will be exempt from tougher new travel restrictions announced by the UK’s Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.

The measures, which come into effect next week, are aimed at keeping out new strains of coronavirus. They apply to those arriving by plane, boat or train.

72 hours

Under the new rules, passengers arriving into England from all international destinations will now be required to present a negative result from a COVID-19 test taken in the 72 hours before departure.

In addition, passengers arriving from countries not on the UK government’s travel corridor list must self-isolate for 10 days regardless of their test result.

Although the official announcement referred only to England, Mr Shapps told the BBC said the rule would apply to the UK as a whole. Non-essential travel to and from Scotland and Wales is already banned.

South Africa suspension

“We already have significant measures in place to prevent imported cases of COVID-19, but with new strains of the virus developing internationally we must take further precautions,” said Mr Shapps.

The latest move follows a recent decision to temporarily suspend direct travel from South Africa to England after evidence emerged from health authorities reporting an outbreak of a variant strain of the virus spreading to some local communities.