Return tests – beware!

Covid test in the wrong language could face a £500 fine

Thanks as usual to Jaime for drawing attention to another pitfall to watch out for especially with free tests being offered in Madeira: People who return to the UK with a Covid test in the wrong language could face a £500 fine

The “i” newspaper reports that travellers have been stopped from boarding flights in Italy and Germany despite the word for negative being similar in both languages.

Only tests in English, French or Spanish accepted by UK

Holidaymakers returning to England could face a £500 fine if they don’t have a negative coronavirus test result in English, French, or Spanish. Travellers without test results in any of the three languages accepted by the Government have been turned away at check-in and even at the gate before boarding flights to England, i reveals.

It is understood the Government is now monitoring the issue because it has caused concern. Currently anyone returning must show proof of a negative coronavirus test taken within three days of departure. Free tests – mostly Antigen – are being offered to visitors by the Madeiran authourities

The result must be provided in a printed document or an email or text message that can be shown on a phone. Government advice adds: “If the test result does not include this information you may not be able to board, and may not be able to travel to England. If you arrive without a test result that includes this information, you might have to pay a £500 fine.”

Italian test certificate not accepted

Anne Parry, told i, she saw a woman turned away at the gate of her Easyjet flight from Malpensa airport in Milan, Italy, to Gatwick on 7 May. Ms Parry, 70, said: “She was turned away by easyJet. She wasn’t British or Italian. She didn’t speak much Italian so there was an Italian girl sitting with her, phoning the company that had supplied the test in Italian. She asked them to send it in English but this was apparently not possible.

“I expect this is correct because we had struggled to find a test provider who was able to do the test and provide the result in English.  In the end we boarded the plane but had to wait while her luggage was offloaded.” Ms Parry is unsure why the woman had been allowed to proceed to the gate but passenger paperwork was double-checked before boarding and the woman’s test was found to be in the wrong language. She subsequently got an email from easyJet apologising for the delay it caused.

Ms Parry called the rule on test languages “completely stupid” as the relevant words on an Italian test such as “specificita”, which means specificity and “negativo”, which means negative, are the same as English except for the final vowel.

In a Facebook group set up to discuss travel testing issues, one user wrote: “I recently travelled from Munich and saw BA turn away two groups in front of me at check in for this very reason.”Travellers who are heading to Portugal from today will need to find a coronavirus test with a result in English before their return.

Tests in Portugal

With Portugal opening up for British tourists from today, there is concern about travellers not being able to find English tests on their return. I have just checked my (negative!) PCR test taken in Funchal last week and the document is purely Portuguese.

Danielle Heap, who is doing a house swap with a British friend who lives in Lisbon in July, said she they have so far not found anywhere to get English tests. She told i: “We’ve been keeping a close eye on all the restrictions and requirements.

“If you’re travelling back from Portugal they speak Portuguese there, my friend has done some research if it’s possible to get PCR tests in English to return and so far she’s not been able to locate anywhere that will print the results in English. This could be a problem if people are refused back into the country because their test isn’t in English.

“I think people need to be aware of that, because I’m not sure people are. “I wonder if it’s an oversight, it seems like it’s going to cause extra problems.” Ms Heap, from Oxford, also questioned the government’s rule as the word for “negative” in Portuguese is also very similar. It is also “negativo”. She said: “Written Portuguese is so similar to Spanish as well which is silly. It’s silly to have countries on the (green) list that you’re not going to except the PCR test in their language. They should be able to come up with code that shows it’s negative wherever you have come in from.”

The word for negative in German is also similar – it is “negativ” – leaving travellers baffled why UK border agents aren’t able to accept them.

Hannah Jones, 29, who is English but lives in Nuremberg and is coming back to see family at the end of the month, wrote: “The German word for negative is “negativ”. In Italian it’s “negativo”. Is that too difficult for border control?” PCR tests for travel are free in Germany and France but Ms Jones told i she struggled to find somewhere that would provide an English test for free although did so eventually.

In the government guidance it says a test can be either a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or an antigen test but must meet or exceed performance standards of 97% specificity and 80% sensitivity at viral loads above 100,000 copies/ml.

A Department for Transport spokesperson said the rule was brought in on January 15 when all in-bound passengers to England were required to take a pre-departure test. They told i: “We are prioritising the resumption of international travel and have delivered significant improvements to the Passenger Locator Form to streamline processes at departure and at the border.” 

A new tab has been added to the top of each page with a link to resources dealing with COVID-19 in Madeira – this covers the latest government regulations on travel to the island, how to get a PCR test, and many other links that will be useful to people wanting to travel to and from Madeira

COVID-19 in Madeira: previous daily updates can be found on an earlier post.

Vaccinations in Madeira: updates can be found on an earlier post.