THE Welsh Government has announced a major change to its overseas travel rules – which will potentially make it easier to travel abroad.

Next month, the green and amber travel lists in Wales will merge – which will bring the Welsh system in line with the new approach being taken by the UK Government.

It will also remove the requirement for pre-departure covid testing for those who are fully vaccinated.

These new changes are set to be brought in on Monday, October 4.

However, no decision has yet been made on the rules surrounding PCR tests for returning travellers.

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At this time, those who return from abroad must take a PCR test on their second and eighth day after returning.

Last week, the UK Government’s transport minister Grant Shapps announced that those who are fully vaccinated will now only have to take a lateral flow test two days after they arrive back in the country.

Today (Monday, September 27), Eluned Morgan, minister for health and social services, has called on the UK Government to reverse this decision.

She said: “We have regularly called for a careful approach to international travel to prevent coronavirus being re-imported into the UK, especially new and emerging variants which may not respond to the vaccines.

“The decision to move away from PCR tests from returning travellers on day two is concerning. This test, combined with genetic sequencing of all positive tests, is a vital part of our surveillance for coronavirus and protects our borders from the virus.

“We recognise the communication and enforcement challenges in having different testing requirements, and continue to thoroughly examine the evidence for a Wales-only testing regime, but the strongest solution to protect public health is for the UK Government to reinstate UK-wide testing.”

Decisions regarding which list countries find themselves on can be expected over the coming days.

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