- Managed Quarantine Facilities to come into effect from 15
February
- Discussions with transport and hospitality industry already
underway and commercial specification issued to hotels
- Health Secretary to oversee implementation and to chair new
Cabinet sub-committee, working closely with former Vice Chief of
Defence Staff, General Sir Gordon Messenger, on government
rollout
- Discussions with Australia and New Zealand have taken place
to share expertise on quarantining
Building on existing tough measures, the Department for Health
and Social Care has confirmed that from the 15 February anyone
travelling to the UK from a country on the UK’s travel ban list
will be required to quarantine in a government approved facility
for a period of 10 days.
On Thursday evening DHSC issued a commercial specification to
hotels near ports and airports, asking for proposals on how they
can support the delivery of Managed Quarantine Facilities ahead
of formal contracts being awarded. General Sir Gordon Messenger
will also play an important role in advising the government on
the delivery of the programme.
Over the past week, the government has met with stakeholders from
across the aviation, maritime, hotel and hospitality industry,
and will now continue to finalise plans to enable implementation
from 15 February.
The Health Secretary held discussions with his Australian
counterpart on Thursday, and officials will speak with New
Zealand officials to share expertise. DHSC has also held a series
of roundtables with over 60 companies and industry
representatives as the public and private sector work together to
reduce transmissions of COVID-19.
Further details will be set out next week on how passengers will
be able to book into the designated accommodation facilities.
This comes as the Prime Minister appoints the Health and Social
Care Secretary to oversee cross-government efforts to deliver
mandatory quarantine and enhanced testing which will help tackle
the threats of new variants of COVID-19. A new Cabinet
sub-committee, led by the Health and Care Secretary, will be
attended by a number of senior Cabinet ministers that will play a
vital role in delivering the policy. The government is also
working closely with the Devolved Administration of Scotland,
Wales and Northern Ireland as the changes come into effect.
Detailed work is already underway with the Home Office,
Department for Transport, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development
Office and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, and
other government departments.
A DHSC spokesperson said:
“Throughout the pandemic, the government has put in place
proportionate measures, informed by the advice of scientists, and
that has led to some of the toughest border regimes in the world.
It is currently illegal to go on holiday, and passengers
travelling to the UK must provide proof of a negative test before
they travel, and self-isolate on arrival. With increased police
presence at airports and more physical checks at addresses to
make sure people are self-isolating, we are taking decisive
action.
“We are now working at pace to secure the facilities we need to
roll out managed quarantine for British nationals returning home
from the most high risk countries, and are rightly engaging with
representatives from the hospitality, maritime and aviation
industry, and learning from our friends around the world. In the
face of new variants, it is important that the government
continues to take the necessary steps to protect people and save
lives.”
These measures build on the Home Secretary’s announcement on 27
January that the government is taking further action for outbound
and inbound passengers, to minimise travel across international
borders and reduce the risk of Covid-19 transmission.
