Supermarkets step up deliveries to aid people trapped by quarantine

SUPERMARKETS are dramatically expanding home delivery to cater for the huge number of holidaymakers hit by new quarantine regulations.

An estimated half a million Britons are currently on holiday in countries that have been added to the Government quarantine list and will be required to remain at home for 14 days when they return to the UK.

The lack of notice means most will be arriving home to empty shelves and cupboards, but could face a £1,000 fine if they go to the shops to stock up.

Supermarkets fear they are likely to be inundated with requests for online deliveries in coming weeks and are ramping up their capacity to ensure people who are self-isolating can get food and other essentials.

Waitrose has doubled the number of weekly online delivery slots to 160,000, reserving at least a quarter for vulnerable and elderly customers who could miss out on bookings as demand from those in quarantine increases.

New reservation times are being released daily on the grocery chain’s website, with its capacity having “rapidly” been enhanced in response to the latest development in the pandemic.

Other supermarkets are introducing similar plans, as food retailers are keen to avoid the sort of chaos seen at the beginning of lockdown when four in five shoppers reported difficulties.

The sudden announcement that France was being added to the countries on the quarantine list created a

stampede by holidaymakers desperate to get back to the UK before yesterday’s 4am deadline expired.

Around 160,000 tourists are thought to have got back in time to avoid selfisolation, with 30,000 grabbing the last available seats on the Eurostar.

Many more crammed on to ferries, while some even chartered fishing boats to get them across the Channel.

The change in France’s quarantine status also means potential disaster for those who were planning to visit the country in the coming weeks.

The French government is expected to retaliate tomorrow by introducing a reciprocal policy requiring British holidaymakers to stay indoors for 14 days when they arrive for their holiday.

Thousands who planned trips to France could therefore be left picking up the bill for cancelled flights, sailings and hotels.

While those who have booked package holidays are likely to be covered for any cancellations, independent travellers may be left with little or no protection if they are unable to travel.

A spokesman for the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) said it was impossible to know how many people had cancelled trips to France.

Those who booked package holidays across the Channel and are affected by the new advice have three options: seek a refund, rebook for another date or see whether the holiday company can offer an equivalent holiday to an alternative destination.

But, those who arranged their own flights or ferry crossings, as well as accommodation, will have to trawl through the terms and conditions with each supplier to see if they are entitled to refunds or rebooking options.

The ABTA spokesman added: “The announcements relating to Spain, and now France, impact the two biggest destinations for British holidaymakers at the height of the summer season, affecting an industry that has had its trade significantly restricted since the start of this crisis.

“At this time of recession, a plan is urgently needed to protect the 221,000 jobs the travel industry sustains.”

However, a spokesman for Eurotunnel said many customers had been in contact to say they were still going to travel to France despite the new rules.

A Ryanair spokesman said its flights between the UK and France, Malta and the Netherlands are operating normally. Passengers who do not wish to travel on their booked flight can move it to another date, in which case a flight change fee and the difference in fare may apply.

The expansion of the quarantine list means huge numbers of people will be unable to return to work when they had originally planned.

Also, thousands of pupils could miss the start of the new school term because of quarantine.

Anyone caught breaching quarantine could face a £1,000 fine and the police are braced for a surge in neighbours contacting them to report people breaking the rules.

One policing source said: “As we found in lockdown, people are only too willing to inform on neighbours if they feel their behaviour is putting others in danger.”

Meanwhile, a French government source told The Sunday Telegraph they believe the decision to introduce quarantine was an attempt by the Prime Minister to divert attention away from his mishandling of the pandemic.

“The British Government is doing the same with the virus that it’s doing with the migrant boats from Calais, which is to blame the ‘foreign enemy’,” the source said.

But the UK Government insists the measures are necessary to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Greece, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Croatia all have rising case numbers and there is concern they, too, could be added to the quarantine list.

‘These decisions impact the two biggest destinations for Britons at the height of the summer season’

‘People are only too willing to inform on neighbours if they feel their behaviour is putting others in danger’