Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Finally... traveller tests & isolation
353 days after 1st UK case Passengers back new rules
PASSENGERS flying into the UK faced strict coronavirus restrictions that finally kicked in yesterday – a year after the first case landed here.
Arrivals had to show proof of a negative test taken within the previous 72 hours and quarantine for 10 days under the rules that started at 4am.
Long queues formed at airports but passengers supported the move, which came into effect 353 days after the UK confirmed its first Covid-19 case.
A group of post-grad students from China flew to Manchester via Abu Dhabi in full protective suits, masks and goggles, and were taken on a bus to quarantine accommodation at Leeds University.
Similarly dressed student Yanan Zho, who arrived at Heathrow from China, said: “I just wanted to make sure I got here safely,” before leaving for quarantine.
The Government has been criticised for not acting sooner to stop infection being brought into the country.
Australia and New Zealand closed their borders to almost all arrivals last March, with any international travellers forced to isolate in hotels for 14 days. New Zealand
Rugby League international Elijah Taylor had expected to face similar measures when he flew into Manchester from Sydney, Australia, yesterday to join Super League side Salford Red Devils.
Elijah, 30, said: “When you arrive in New Zealand from abroad you are taken straight away on a bus to a hotel for two weeks’ quarantine. I was quite surprised I didn’t have to do the same here.”
The 6ft 3in forward added: “I had to get a Covid test in Sydney and that was checked before I took off and when I landed here today. I’ve got to self-isolate
At passport control people were standing too close together KAREN METCALFE FLEW FROM SOUTH AFRICA
for 10 days but the club have put everything in place for me.”
Maria Virginya, 34, an accountant from London, flew to the UK from Buenos Aires in Argentina via Spanish capital Madrid.
She said: “I had a negative test in Buenos Aires on Friday. I had to show the certificate when I got on the plane.
“Then when I transferred in Madrid I had to show it again and then when I landed in Heathrow. Now I have to self-isolate. It’s what we need to do.” Claudia Rodriguez, who flew via Madrid from Rio, Brazil, said: “It was very busy when we landed. I had a negative test before I left, it was checked before I got on both flights and when I landed.” Arrivals from South America were banned last Friday, other than for UK residents or citizens, after the highly transmissible Brazil variant emerged. In Manchester, Karen Metcalfe had arrived from Johannesburg, South Africa, via Frankfurt in Germany. There have also been fears over a South African variant, and UK passport holder Karen said she was asked a lot of questions on both legs of her journey.
She said: “You have to have a Covid certificate and a passenger locator form, to show where you’re going to be staying, because you have to isolate for 10 days.
“It was all very well organised. The only problem was at passport control, where people were standing close together. I noticed in South Africa and Germany people were spaced nicely.”
Her concerns were shared by Andy Hart, from London, who arrived at Heathrow from Nairobi, Kenya. He said: “We felt unsafe. Though everyone was masked they were far too close together.”
Maria Gkizari, 36, arrived home to Manchester from Greek capital Athens and was pleased rules had tightened.
The environmental engineer said passengers were constantly reminded during her flight that they would have to quarantine on arrival in the UK. She added: “It was good. I definitely felt safer.”
James Loveridge, 43, from Teesside was greeted on arrival at Manchester by his wife Louise, 44, after he flew in from Dubai. He said: “We were checked every step of the way.”
The rules came in after ministers scrapped “travel corridors” that allowed people arriving from certain countries to avoid having to self-isolate.