Enforced quarantine and thermal screening at the border are among possible measures being considered to prevent further spread of coronavirus, the home secretary has told MPs as she was challenged over the UK border policy during the pandemic.
Appearing before an online session of the home affairs select committee, Priti Patel said the UK’s approach was being informed by advice from the scientific advisory group for emergencies (Sage) but added that “everything is under review”.
Discussing the government’s broader approach to easing lockdown restrictions, Patel said there would be “new norms” to observe and social distancing would be expected “in every single work area”.
The home secretary was spared questions about recent bullying allegations, most likely due to the ongoing legal proceedings at the employment tribunal lodged against her by the former Home Office permanent secretary Philip Rutnam. According to reports, a separate Cabinet Office inquiry, yet to be published, is set to clear her of any wrongdoing.
Patel was told 130 countries had taken stricter approaches at the border than the UK, including Germany, New Zealand, South Korea, Italy, Singapore, Australia and Greece.
She said: “We are not similar to those countries, in terms of travellers and passenger flows. It’s a fact that the UK has one of the largest numbers of international arrivals, very different flows to some of the countries mentioned that is a key consideration of Sage.”
But the home secretary said discussions were ongoing, adding: “We rule nothing out.”
She said: “It would be based on the science. It would also be based on any changes outside of this country. As easing with lockdown may take place with other countries and more people may choose to travel, choose to fly. We still have to think about he impact of a second wave.”
Patel said if the infection rate domestically decreased, they would consider measures at the border that might help prevent a second wave with quarantine and thermal screening among the possibilities raised by committee members.
She went on: “Looking at the operational side of things, this isn’t something that can just come in overnight. We will have to think of the practical measures of this, how this would be delivered, which kind of ports of entry first and foremost, and how that would work on a practical basis. We rule nothing out.”
Stephen Doughty, the Labour MP, told the home secretary members of the public would find the Home Office’s approach “absolutely baffling” after challenging her over the apparent shift in policy that ended the quarantining of passengers from specific regions such as Wuhan in China.
Patel told the committee earlier in the session that air passenger numbers entering the UK were down 99% year on year, maritime passengers were down 88.7% and international rail travellers were down 94%. On Friday, a total of 9,906 people entered the country, most of whom were British citizens.
Answering questions on the government’s exit strategy from lockdown, Patel said: “The fact of the matter is we will not go back to how we were in early March.”
She told the MPs: “There is a lot of work that is taking place and there are lots of assessments. I’m not at liberty to go into the detail of some of the discussions that are taking place. But I think the fact that testing is dramatically upscaling ... clearly that will have an impact now in terms of giving hopefully greater public confidence to eventually going back to work.
“Even before people go back to work there is a job to do yet in terms of securing workplaces.
“The fact of the matter is we will not go back to how we were in early March. There’ll be new norms that will inevitably come off in the way in which social distancing is now dominating our lives and is affecting society.”
She added: “We would expect social distancing in every single work area, whether it is an office or a construction site, social distancing on public transport going forward, these are all active things that rightly so we have to test, we have to put through consideration.”
It was only the second time Patel has appeared before the committee since she was appointed home secretary in July last year, and her first since the general election.
Earlier this month, she was accused of avoiding scrutiny during a time of national emergency as it emerged that the committee chair, Yvette Cooper, had written six times over the past three months in an effort to set a date.
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