A couple who were forced into quarantine shortly after arriving on holiday have told how they were 'greeted by two really aggressive men in hazmat suits and goggles'.
Alex Eaton, 35, and Sarah Teal, 29, arrived to Malta for a luxurious trip on Friday, March 13.
However, the couple, from Burton, knew plans were going to change when they arrived at the airport.
Describing it unfold, Mr Eaton told DerbyshireLive : "We got to East Midlands Airport and there were a few passengers wearing face masks, but no-one was really making a fuss.
"When we got to Malta airport we were greeted by what I can only describe as two really aggressive men in hazmat suits and goggles.
Follow our live blog for the latest coronavirus updates.
"They were using thermal imaging to detect if we had a temperature.
"They were shouting at people saying 'you over there, you get here'.
"It was like they were herding sheep - it was horrible.
"When we got to the hotel, we checked in and went down for some food.
"We'd been there 10 minutes when the general manager came over and said an announcement had been made by the Maltese prime minister that any citizens that have travelled from the UK had got to be on a 14-day quarantine.
"He said there'd be a 1,000-euro fine every time you're caught out and you may be arrested and held in custody.
"All the waiters had stopped and turned the TV up when the announcement was being made.
"They were all paying attention, but I didn't know what was being said."
The couple have not been allowed to leave their room since that moment, which dad-of-two Mr Eaton said had "taken a toll" on them both.
He said: "We've not been allowed to leave the room since we got here on March 13 and we've been put in a room on the quieter side of the hotel, out of the way.
"The staff knock on the door and literally run off and our food is waiting there outside.
"It's like being in prison - like being treated like a dog.
"I made a complaint because they were giving us scraps of food.
"I said 'I've paid for a holiday and I want a holiday'."
Mr Eaton, who is the chief executive of mental health organisation the Eaton Foundation, in Burton, says the pair have been told that they can leave on March 18, which was their original departure date.
He says the experience has also shown him "how serious Coronavirus is" and he thinks the UK’s approach to the virus has been "lacklustre".
He said: "We could tell Malta was taking it much more seriously than the UK straight away.
"I think our approach in the UK is very lacklustre.
"I was very much under the impression that people were being touchy and overreacting, but this is really serious.
"The problem is we know so little about it that we are just making assumptions.
"I think the UK needs to take this more seriously."
DerbsyshireLive have approached the Department for Health and Public Health England.
