Anyone who has visited a country on the UK’s travel ban list in
the last 10 days will have to quarantine in hotels from today
(Monday 15 February).
From today, if you have been in a high risk destination on the
UK’s ‘red list’ – comprised of 33 hotspots with Covid variants in
circulation – you will have to enter England through a designated
port and have pre-booked a quarantine package to stay at one of
the government’s Managed Quarantine Facilities.
Those arriving from today onwards that have not visited a red
list country must still quarantine for ten days at home and
complete two mandatory COVID-19 tests on the second and eighth
day after arriving.
The government has tough measures already in place requiring all
travellers into the UK, from any location, to provide proof of a
negative COVID-19 test taken no more than three days before
departure and non-UK residents from the 33 red list countries are
already banned from entering Britain.
Health and Social Care Secretary, , said:
“As this deadly virus evolves, so must our defences. We have
already taken tough action to limit the spread, protect people
and save lives.
“With the emergence of new variants, we must go further. The
rules coming into force today will bolster the quarantine system
and provide another layer of security against new variants at the
border.
“These new measures are important to protect our vaccination
programme, which has now seen 15 million people vaccinated, we
all work towards restoring normal life.”
The new measures that have come in to force today will further
strengthen the UK’s borders, limit the spread of new COVID-19
variants and potentially save lives.
The tougher quarantine restrictions also carry heavier fines and
penalties with potential prison sentences of up to 10 years.
Enforcement of new regulations
The government has also put in place new regulations equipping
Border Force and Police staff with the powers needed to ensure
people arriving in England conform to the new rules.
Border Force have the power to issue fixed penalty notices to
individuals suspected of lying on their Passenger Locator Form
and where necessary detain them for up to three hours.
As part of the regulations, a requirement for quarantining
individuals to self-isolate in their room is set out in law.
There will be also be a visible security presence at the Managed
Quarantine Facilities to ensure that people are obeying these
rules.
The government has struck deals with 16 hotels so far, providing
4,963 rooms for the new quarantine system, with a further 58,000
rooms currently on standby.
All hotel staff will be fully trained in COVID-secure practices,
and all contractors have been instructed to ensure their
facilities and services are provided in a COVID-secure way. This
includes plastic shields and PPE where necessary.
