BUSINESS NEWS


Heathrow chief John Holland-Kaye has called for testing at airports to avert quarantine restrictions


Testing at airports faces cost and validity issues


Covid-19 tests could ease travel restrictions, but not immediately. By Ian Taylor A London School of Hygiene and


Covid-19 tests on arrivals may offer the best way to ease quarantine restrictions, but there are multiple issues to resolve before testing can be in place. Heathrow chief executive John


Holland-Kaye called for tests at airports last week, insisting: “We can move fast.” He suggested “something up and running in two weeks” would allow “people travelling to Spain today [to be tested] on the way back”. However, industry sources


38 6 AUGUST 2020


concede it is unlikely tests on arrivals can save the summer peak. Ministers are considering reducing


the 14-day quarantine to 10 days if travellers test negative – health secretary Matt Hancock confirmed that last week. But the reduction would be on the basis of two tests – a first on arrival and a second after eight days. There are a number of issues. First, there is the testing regime,


since a single test would not satisfy health requirements.


Tropical Medicine study suggested a single test could miss 50% of infections. A separate study at the US Johns


Hopkins School of Medicine found the chances of a test like those planned at Heathrow showing a false-negative result for someone with no symptoms as 100% the day after the person was


Continued on page 36 travelweekly.co.uk


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