The rules affect UK residents and Irish nationals travelling
from 33 countries on the “red list”, which include Portugal, South Africa, the
United Arab Emirates and most of South America.
Non-UK travellers from these countries are currently banned
entry to the UK, which is why they are not affected by the quarantine plans,
for now.
UK Health Secretary, Matt Hancock has announced that
travellers returning England from 33 “red list” countries will be required to
spend 10 days in a Government-designated quarantine hotel at a cost of £1,750,
from Monday 15 February.
There will be tough penalties for non-compliance, including
fines of up to £10,000 for failing to quarantine and up to 10 years in jail for
those who lie on their passenger locator forms – this includes people who try
to conceal that they have been in one of the “red list” destinations in the 10
days before arrival.
There will be 16 hotels providing 4,600 rooms under the
hotel quarantine programme, Hancock said, though he added that “we will secure
more as they are needed”.
The minister said the measures announced will need to be replaced
to enable “safe and free international travel” in the future.
He also confirmed the new “enhanced testing” regime for all
international travellers, with two tests required during the quarantine process
from Monday.
Mr Hancock told the Commons: “People who flout these rules
are putting us all at risk.
“Passenger carriers will have a duty in law to make sure
that passengers have signed up for these new arrangements before they travel,
and will be fined if they don’t, and we will be putting in place tough fines
for people who don’t comply.
“This includes a £1,000 penalty for any international
arrival who fails to take a mandatory test, a £2,000 penalty for any
international arrival who fails to take the second mandatory test, as well as
automatically extending their quarantine period to 14 days, and a £5,000 fixed
penalty notice – rising to £10,000 – for arrivals who fail to quarantine in a
designated hotel.”
He added: “I make no apologies for the strength of these
measures, because we’re dealing with one of the strongest threats to our public
health that we’ve faced as a nation.”
Asked when the new rules will be relaxed, Mr Hancock
replied: “We want to exit from this into a system of safe international travel
as soon as practicable and as soon as is safe.”
Those who need a room in a quarantine hotel must book this
in advance through an online system at a cost of £1,750 per person, which
covers the hotel, transfer and testing.
Around 1,425 people could be arriving daily who require a
quarantine hotel room, according to a document leaked last week, which would
mean the 4,600 rooms could be fully booked after just three days.
Paul Charles, from travel consultancy The PC Agency, said he
has seen a Government document indicating that hotels are only being offered £50
a night to participate, despite those on Bath Road near Heathrow Airport
currently charging an average of £77 a night to members of the public.
He added: “It’s no wonder hotels are less than enthusiastic.
Their costs will outstrip the income from Government.”
He also warned that the UK economy will take “a massive hit
from the lack of certainty over reopening”.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced last week that
passengers will be “met at the airport and transported directly into
quarantine”. These designated hotels will be monitored, and Covid testing will
be administered.
Those returning from any of the 33 “high-risk” countries –
as determined by the Department for Transport – cannot use the Test to Release
scheme and must complete the full 10 days’ isolation.
The Daily Telegraph previously reported that it had seen
documents which revealed that government-appointed security guards will be
posted on all floors of the hotels, with guests expected to clean their own
rooms.
Hotels will reportedly be asked to provide three meals a day
along with seven items of laundry for unprepared guests – although they will be
able to order more food through room service for an additional cost.
The Government’s initial announcement covered countries
which were already subject to a travel ban due to concern over new mutant Covid
strains such as South Africa and Brazil.
However, on Thursday, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps added
more countries to the list, including the United Arab Emirates, which covers
Dubai, Burundi and Rwanda.
Here is the “red list” of countries in full:
- Angola
- Argentina
- Bolivia
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Burundi
- Cape Verde
- Chile
- Colombia
- Democratic Republic of the Congo
- Ecuador
- Eswatini
- French Guiana
- Guyana
- Lesotho
- Malawi
- Mauritius
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Portugal (including Madeira and the Azores)
- Rwanda
- Seychelles
- South Africa
- Suriname
- Tanzania
- United Arab Emirates (UAE)
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe