Passengers flying back from coronavirus-hit Italy were left stunned they weren't screened on arriving back at British airports.
British Airways, Ryanair and EasyJet are all still ferrying people to and from locked down Italy where cases skyrocketed from 1,492 to 7,375 yesterday - while passengers landing back in the UK claim no checks were made in airports.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, meanwhile, extended its movement restriction across the whole of the country last night, with people only allowed out of their homes for work, health needs and emergencies.
Italy's COVID-19 death toll is sitting at 366 and the unprecedented measure will be in place until April 3.
But despite how quickly the virus is spreading throughout the mainland European country, Brits traveling back will not be screened raising fears the epidemic could quickly escalate beyond the fifth deaths already recorded in the UK.
Speaking to the Daily Mail , Nullin Divecha, 57, who flew into Gatwick, said despite an announcement on the flight warning about the virus he was "surprised they didn't check my temperature" calling the situation "very dangerous".
Singh Manspreet, 31, arrived at Gatwick from Milan and said: "I am a little worried, I'm in the UK for ten to 20 days. There were no tests. People in Italy are very worried."
While former Cabinet minister Rory Stewart has slammed the attitude towards stopping the spread, arguing passengers "coming from hotspots should be tested and quarantined".
He said despite the Government claiming they are simply following scientific advise, he believes it actually comes down to a refusal to "take a large economic hit".
In a statement shared on Twitter , the independent London mayoral candidate said: "The government has made a serious mistake today.
"They should be acting much more aggressively to contain Coronavirus.
"There is no excuse for passengers not being tested off a plane from Milan last night.
"There is no justification for half-hearted measures. The government and the Mayor keep saying they are simply following 'scientific advice'.
"But the scientists are clear that this is now a political decision - on whether the government are prepared to spend very serious sums of money, and take a large economic hit, to maximise protection of the population."
Last night the Government did, however, advise British nationals against all but essential travel to Italy , with the Foreign Office stating the safety of Brits was the "number one priority".
"The advice is that anyone who arrives from Italy subsequent to the Italian government decision should now self-isolate for 14 days," a statement said.
This came as the UK saw its fourth and fifth virus-related deaths in a matter of hours on Monday, with 321 cases now confirmed.
The latest death was a person in their 70s who was being treated at St Helier Hospital in Carshalton , south London, and died just hours after the fourth UK fatality in Royal Wolverhampton Hospital.
Both had underlying health problems.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters yesterday the UK will almost certainly move out of the contain phase to delay in tackling the spread.
While Public Health England has said cabin crew are being trained to spot symptoms - despite having no medical qualifications - and further information will be available in airports.
However, editor of Which? Travel, Rory Boland, said air travellers need to be kept better up to date with what's happening in Italy.
He said passengers need "urgent information" and there needs to be an "improvement on the speed" with which it is provided.
Mr Boland added airlines must also allow people to "cancel for a refund, or rebook at a later date or on a different flight" if they wish due to the anxiety around coronavirus.
Experts in the UK have said the lockdown in Italy cannot be sustained.
Professor John Edmunds, from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, said the epidemic will likely go on a long-term and "appropriate measures need to be taken at the right time to maximise their impact" - with lockdown simply a short-term fix.
Paul Hunter, professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia, compared the Italy lockdown to the one in Wuhan when the virus first began to spread in December.
He said in the Chinese city there was still the "possibility that the global epidemic could be prevented" but at this stage it is "already spreading globally".
The professor added such extreme measures were unlikely needed in the UK as the spread doesn't seem to be as out of control.
