Travellers arriving into the UK from countries deemed high-risk because of coronavirus will need to spend their isolation in ‘quarantine hotels’, the government has announced today.
Travellers will be met at the airport and transported to 'government provided accommodation' which will include hotels.
Similar hotels already exist in Australia and New Zealand, which see travellers escorted from airports to the hotels, where they must stay in their room for the full self-isolation period.
However, the new quarantine hotels won’t be mandatory for all UK arrivals - just those who are travelling back from the 30 countries. Travel is already banned completely for non-Brits who have been in those 30 countries in the last 30 days. (You can check out the full list below).
This will run alongside other rules for UK arrivals such as being required to take a Covid-19 test 72 hours before departure with proof of a negative result.
It's worth noting that regardless of which destination someone has travelled from, UK arrivals need to quarantine. Travel corridors have been temporarily suspended, which means anyone arriving into the UK will need to quarantine for 10 days.
However, if they're arriving from a destination not on the 'quarantine hotel list', they'll be asked to confirm the address of where they will be self-isolating.
Check out the full list below…
Full list of countries included in 'quarantine hotels' policy
- Angola
- Argentina
- Bolivia
- Botswana
- Brazil
- Cape Verde
- Chile
- Colombia
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Ecuador
- Eswatini
- French Guiana
- Guyana
- Lesotho
- Malawi
- Mauritius
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Portugal (including Madeira and the Azores)
- Seychelles
- South Africa
- Suriname
- Tanzania
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
At the time of writing England, Scotland and Wales are under national lockdowns which include a ban on international travel.
The Prime Minister told the Commons: “I want to make clear that under the stay at home regulations, it is illegal to leave home to travel abroad for leisure purposes and we will enforce this at ports and airports by asking people why they are leaving and instructing them to return home if they do not have a valid reason to travel."
There are some legally permitted reasons to go abroad such as for work purposes - you can read more in the FCDO travel advice.
Meanwhile, Home Secretary Priti Patel has announced that anyone who tries to leave the UK will need to declare a valid reason, or risk a fine or being sent home from the airport. The news comes as part of a wider crackdown following a minority of Brits who are continuing to go on holiday during lockdown.
As a result of the ban on international travel, most airlines have drastically reduced their schedules, while holiday firms have cancelled holidays, with firms such as TUI and easyJet holidays having cancelled trips until March.
