Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, for what reason it is the Government's policy that people travelling from amber list countries during covid-19 travel restrictions who take a PCR test to release at Day 8 with a negative result are not allowed to leave quarantine whereas those that pay for a PCR test on Day 5 and test negative are allowed to leave quarantine.

Testing remains an important part of our toolkit to manage the risk of imported cases of Covid-19, as well as identifying variants of concern.

The timing of all post-arrival tests is based on data modelling from Public Health England which shows that, due to the limited number of travellers taking up the scheme and the smaller differential between levels of infection at Days 5 and 8, Test to Release has minimal impact on infection rates but supports essential travel for businesses and individuals where appropriate.

However, even the most accurate test can only detect the virus in a person when the viral load is high enough to do so. Therefore, the day 8 test is necessary to ensure that Amber arrivals who are due to end self-isolation no longer pose a threat of infecting others. This applies even if you have opted into Test to Release and tested negative on day 5. If your day 8 test is positive you must self-isolate for a further 10 days.

We will continue to regularly review the measures in place to take account of the domestic and international health picture.