Laurence Dollimore
ANY traveller returning to the UK from a ‘red list’ country will have to quarantine for 10 days in Government-provided accommodation, it has been confirmed.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson told MPs today that the new measure, which has been anticipated for weeks, is aimed at stopping variants of COVID-19 from entering the country.
Home Secretary Priti Patel will announce the measure and its details in full later today, said Johnson during Prime Minister’s Questions.
As previously reported, travellers must foot the bill for their hotel isolation themselves and testing will be carried out during their stay.
“They will be met at the airport and transported directly into quarantine. The Department of Health and Social Care is working to establish these facilities as quickly as possible,” MPs were told today.
There are currently just 22 countries on the red list, all of them in south Africa and South America, plus Portugal.
Johnson rejected calls, including from Scottish leader Nicola Sturgeon and Labour leader Keir Starmer, for the plan to go further.
Priti Patel had also called for a blanket quarantine on all arriving travellers from abroad.
