Coronavirus: Airport tests may provide 'early travel quarantine release'
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ISLAMABAD-Passengers arriving at UK airports could soon be able to have the same type of saliva swab test used by the NHS to screen for the coronavirus.
Companies planning a trial of the scheme hope a negative result will allow early release from the government's 14-day travel quarantine.
People will have to pay around £140 for a test booked online before travel.
The government said the quarantine system aims to keep the transmission rate down and prevent a second wave.
BBC News has been told that a trial is expected to begin in a couple of weeks at a major UK airport.
The aim is to initially test 500 passengers a day.
Under the proposals, passengers would visit an airport clinic after immigration to take a test and self-isolate at home until they received the result.
A negative result could take as little as five hours. However, the aim will be to notify every participant within 24 hours.
