Arrivals at airports to be forced to quarantine under Boris Johnson’s plan to exit the lockdown
ARRIVALS at airports will be forced to quarantine for 14 days under Boris Johnson’s plan to exit the lockdown. The PM tonight revealed his “first careful steps” of easing the coronavirus lockdown to get life back to normal. ⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates And he tonight confirmed reports […]
ARRIVALS at airports will be forced to quarantine for 14 days under Boris Johnson’s plan to exit the lockdown.
The PM tonight revealed his “first careful steps” of easing the coronavirus lockdown to get life back to normal.
Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates
And he tonight confirmed reports that people arriving in the UK will be quarantined for two weeks to stop a second coronavirus wave.
No1o tonight said they were still working out the detail on whether the quarantine would include arrivals by port or Channel Tunnel.
Speaking to the nation tonight, Boris said: “To prevent re-infection from abroad, I am serving notice that it will soon be the time – with transmission significantly lower – to impose quarantine on people coming into this country by air.”
It is understood holidaymakers and travellers arriving into the country – including Brits – will risk a £1,000 fine or deportation as the regulations come in over the coming weeks.
In a video message tonight the PM:
- Urged Brits to get back to work if they can’t from home
- Revealed Brits would be allowed to sunbathe in parks and play unlimited sport from Wednesday – and can go on day trips
- Said anyone coming into the country by air would be forced to quarantine
- Schools will start going back from June – but only if the infection level is low enough
- But he warned that pubs, cinemas and mass gatherings would be off the cards for months to come
Mr Johnson has spoken to France’s president Emmanuel Macron – agreeing that no quarantine measures would apply to travellers arriving.
In a statement, No10 said: “No quarantine measures would apply to travellers coming from France at this stage; any measures on either side would be taken in a concerted and reciprocal manner.
“A working group between the two governments will be set up to ensure this consultation throughout the coming weeks.”
It was previously reported that new arrivals will have to fill in a digital form to give UK officials a forwarding address where they will be self-isolating for the next 14 days, but travellers from Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man will be exempt.
Key workers and lorry drivers could also be allowed to dodge the requirement.
More details around the lockdown changes are set to be revealed tomorrow and into this week.
Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel, said the news would “add to the confusion” that Brit holidaymakers were facing.
He said: “The situation is chaotic: the guidance issued by the government against travelling abroad is indefinite, and yet some airlines and travel companies are selling flights and holidays due to depart within the next few weeks which carry no warning that they are unlikely to go ahead as planned.
“Airlines and holiday companies must now be given clear FCO guidance on what dates it is appropriate to sell flights and holidays for.
“The government must also urgently produce a plan to support the travel industry through this crisis, so carriers and holiday companies can comply with the law and refund consumers without fear of going bust.”
LOCKDOWN CONTINUES
It is expected the new measures to curb the Covid-19 outbreak will come into place at the start of June.
Speaking in an address to the nation, Mr Johnson thanked the public for following the guidelines over the past six weeks.
He said: “It is thanks to your effort and sacrifice in stopping the spread of this disease that the death rate is coming down and hospital admissions are coming down.”
“Thanks to you we have protected our NHS and saved many thousands of lives.”
But he warned the battle against the bug had not been won yet.
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Mr Johnson added: “It would be madness now to throw away that achievement by allowing a second spike.
“We must stay alert. We must continue to control the virus and save lives.”
So far, more than 31,000 lives have been lost to coronavirus in the UK with more than 219,000 cases.
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