UK hotel quarantine scheme for red-list travellers
Currently the only European country affected is Portugal
ANYONE travelling to Britain from a country on the UK’s travel ban list will be required to quarantine in a government-approved hotel for 10 days from February 15.
The UK’s department of health and social care (DHSC) outlined more detailed plans last week.
The rules will apply to UK nationals and residents returning to Britain from 33 ‘red list’ Covid-19 hotspots – including several South American and African countries where new Covid variants have been detected in large numbers of people.
Currently the only European country on the list is Portugal. The DHSC press release notes that the government ‘has met with stakeholders from across the aviation, maritime, hotel and hospitality industry, and will now continue to finalise plans to enable implementation from February 15’.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has held discussions with his Australian counterpart and officials spoke with New Zealand counterparts to share expertise.
A DHSC spokesperson said: “We are now working at pace to secure the facilities we need to roll out managed quarantine for British nationals returning home from the most high-risk countries, and are rightly engaging with representatives from the hospitality, maritime and aviation industry, and learning from our friends around the world. In the face of new variants, it is important that the government continues to take the necessary steps to protect people and save lives.”
The spokesman noted that further details would be given this week on how passengers would be able to book into the designated accommodation facilities.
According to the BBC, passengers will have to stay in their rooms for 10 nights, with security guards accompanying them if they go outside.
Quarantine hotels are expected to be set up near airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, London City, Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.
Guests will have three meals a day in their rooms, with tea, coffee, fruit and water being available.
Security will ‘accompany any of the arrived individuals to access outside space should they need to smoke or get fresh air’, one document says.
One hospitality industry source told the BBC that the government estimated the cost at about £80 per night per person.
Passengers will be expected to pay for the cost of the accommodation.
Additonal measures
The UK department for health also announced that from February 15, ‘if you arrive in England and have travelled in a country on the banned travel list (red list) in the last 10 days, you will need to book your hotel before you travel and two Covid-19 tests to take during your quarantine’.
Their press release adds: “If you’re coming from a country that is not on the banned travel list, you will need to quarantine at home for 10 days. You will need to book two Covid-19 tests before you arrive to take during your quarantine.”
More information on how to book quarantine hotels and tests was due to be published yesterday (Thursday), they added.
However, the BBC reported that arrivals are expected to be required to get a test on days two and eight of their 10-day quarantine period.
The department of health said the move would provide a 'further level of protection'.
It is in addition to the current rules which say travellers arriving in the UK, whether by boat, train or plane, must show proof of a negative Covid-19 test to be allowed entry.