Travel to UK unaffected for students despite rise of Omicron cases

Here’s some good news for international students: there are no new UK travel updates restricting your entry despite COVID-19 cases rising significantly.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson will not introduce further COVID restrictions in England or any UK travel updates before 2022, giving mass events the go-ahead and leaving nightclubs open for New Year’s Eve — but ministers will look again at whether measures are needed in January.

Scientists criticised the decision, which came as England recorded its highest number of COVID infections, with over 100,000 cases on Christmas Day. They said it was the moment of “the greatest divergence between scientific advice and legislation” seen since the start of the pandemic.

“We won’t be taking any further measures. Of course people should remain cautious as we approach new year celebrations and take a lateral flow test if that makes sense, celebrate outdoors if you can, have some ventilation indoors if you can,” said Sajid Javid, the health secretary.

The call for caution was reiterated by the prime minister in a series of tweets on Monday night.

We will continue to monitor the data carefully, but there will be no new restrictions introduced in England before the New Year. 1/2

— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) December 27, 2021

England recorded a further 98,515 new cases on Monday (December 3) as the Omicron variant continues to spread rapidly, after a record total of 113,628 infections on Christmas Day and 103,893 on Boxing Day, though the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has previously cautioned that data will be unreliable over the festive period as testing and hospital admission patterns change.

Stay tuned for more news on any UK travel updates here.