PRIME Minister Boris Johnson is expected to approve plans to force some travellers arriving in the UK to quarantine in hotels to limit the spread of new coronavirus variants.
On Monday, Mr Johnson said the possibility of people arriving in the UK having to quarantine in hotels is something the Government is “definitely looking at”.
He said: “We have to realise there is at least the theoretical risk of a new variant that is a vaccine-busting variant coming in, we’ve got to be able to keep that under control.”
“With this vaccination programme, we’ve done I think 6.3, 6.4 million people now in the UK as a whole.
“We are on target just, just, we’re on target to hit our ambition of vaccinating everybody in those vulnerable groups by the middle of February.”
He added: “We want to make sure that we protect our population, protect this country against reinfection from abroad.
“That idea of looking at hotels is certainly one thing we’re actively now working on.
“We need a solution that gives us the maximum possible protection against reinfection from abroad.”
The Prime Minister will discuss proposals for arrivals to quarantine in designated hotels to ensure they follow self-isolation rules with senior ministers on Tuesday.
Various options are said to be on the table, but Whitehall sources suggested that ministers may opt for a more limited system after aviation leaders warned that introducing tougher border rules would be “catastrophic” for the industry.
The officials said a less sweeping option would apply only to British residents returning from countries with more contagious strains – such as Brazil, South Africa and Portugal.
But the final decision is set to be made at a meeting of the Covid-O committee on Tuesday. No 10 declined to comment.
Australia became one of the first countries to introduce mandatory hotel quarantine in March, while the practice is also observed in China, New Zealand, India, Singapore, the Philippines, Taiwan, Qatar and Thailand.
The PA say reports have suggested that arrivals would have to cover the price of quarantining in hotels for 10 days, potentially setting them back more than £1,000.
Direct flights to the UK from South Africa, Brazil and Portugal have been suspended, but British residents have been permitted to return through indirect routes and then self-isolate at home.
In a joint statement, the Airport Operators Association and Airlines UK insisted the country already has “some of the highest levels of restrictions in the world” and that introducing tougher rules would be “catastrophic”.
Andrew Denton, the head of hotels at Best Western GB, said: “We have spent nine months doing the homework and the hard work behind the scenes working with some of the UK’s leading medical people and organisations to put the procedures and policies in place to do this properly and safely, for guests and staff.
“We are expecting an announcement from the Government. Best Western hotels are ready to step in, help out and contribute to controlling the spread of the virus at this time of national need.”
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