If you have plans to travel to the UK anytime soon, you might need to be prepaid for the UK’s new arrival rules.

All travellers to the UK would now be required to take two coronavirus tests while quarantining.

The new testing policy comes amid concern about new variants entering the country that are more resistant to existing vaccines.

Arrivals will be required to get a test on days two and eight of their 10-day quarantine period, whether they are isolating at home or in a hotel.

The Department of Health said the move would enable authorities to track new cases more effectively.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock will set out more details in the Commons later.

It is in addition to the current rules which require travellers arriving in the UK – whether by boat, train or plane – to show proof of a negative Covid-19 test to be allowed entry.

This test must be taken in the 72 hours before travelling, and anyone arriving without one faces a fine of up to £500, with Border Force officials carrying out spot checks.

Travellers must provide contact details and their UK address. They can then travel – by public transport if necessary – to the place where they plan to self-isolate.

Early trials of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine suggest it offers “minimal protection” against mild disease from the South Africa variant. There have been 147 cases of the variant have found in the UK.

Prof Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme the results were “expected” because the virus is “introducing mutations… to allow it to still transmit in populations where there’s some immunity.”

“As long as we have enough immunity to prevent severe disease, hospitalisations and death, then we’re going to be fine in the future in the pandemic,” he said.