‘Hotel quarantine’ for all visitors to Britain

ALL travellers into the UK face being forced to quarantine in hotels under plans to further lock down Britain’s borders.

Ministers have asked officials to prepare for the creation of quarantine hotels, where arrivals would self-isolate before being allowed out.

The fresh crackdown would further reduce the risk of virus variants entering the UK and undermining the vaccination drive, amid fears new strains could be resistant to the jabs.

It comes after variants emerged in south Africa and Brazil, with scientific advisers warning more are likely to develop and could be imported from around the world.

The Independent scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies called for a change in quarantine rules in a report on Friday, saying the existing system of ‘in effect, voluntary self-isolation’ should be replaced as ‘a matter of urgency’.

Instead ‘a managed isolation system’ would ensure ‘the full period of isolation is completed’. The report said new strains highlighted ‘international travel as a gaping hole in the UK’s response to the pandemic’. The Independent sAGE group does not officially advise the Government and is separate from its advisers.

Travellers are allowed to use public transport or taxis after arriving into the UK. They are then supposed to quarantine for up to ten days, but the vast majority are not thought to have faced any checks.

The sunday Times reported that a fresh quarantine crackdown, if introduced, could use GPs and facial-recognition technology to check people don’t leave self-isolation.

Any new measures would follow the scrapping of ‘travel corridors’ announced by Boris Johnson on Friday. All arrivals will have to provide a negative Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours of travel or be banned entering the UK. Both measures came into force at four o’clock this morning.

Those flouting the rules face fines of between £200 and £6,400.

A Department for Transport spokesman said: ‘We keep all measures under review.’

FORCING greedy developers to pay to repair homes with dangerous cladding has been a mantra of ministers ever since the Grenfell disaster.

But beyond encouraging noises, the Government has done precious little to address the scandal. Until now.

The building sharks face a £2billion levy to help fix the historical defects. This though deserves only a qualified welcome.

It is a drop in the ocean compared with the total bill. And countless homeowners could be trapped with ruinous costs in perilous properties they cannot sell for a decade.

With profits rolling in, the developers can afford to cough up for this safety work. Ministers should make them – in full.

A WHOLE year after Covid struck, the Government only now plans to place all arrivals in Britain in ‘quarantine hotels’ to prevent mutant strains spreading. This is better than the recent policy: To wave in visitors and trust them to isolate. But once again, it depends on being policed properly. If not, it’s just another headline-grabbing gimmick – and next to useless.