Holidays: Hotel quarantine could start on February 15 as UK clamps down on travel | Travel News | Travel
Holidays received a blow last month as it was announced the Government was clamping down…
Holidays received a blow last month as it was announced the Government was clamping down on travel. Among the strict new measures is the new hotel quarantine rule. This sees travellers from the “red list” of 33 high-risk countries forced to self-isolate in a hotel at their own expense for 10 days.
Although the measure was mooted last month, no start date was announced.
However, according to a travel expert, the hotel quarantine is set to come in at the middle of the month.
Paul Charles, CEO of travel consultancy, The PC Agency, claimed February 15 is the start date.
“Hearing that hotel quarantine from high-risk areas will begin on 15th February,” he posted on Twitter today.
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The Government has yet to confirm this date, however, but is understood to be unveiling details this week.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson told Express.co.uk: “The government is taking a precautionary approach against the risk posed by new variants. We are building on the stringent measures we already have in place – adding another layer of protection against the virus.
“We will set out a detailed implementation plan soon – the law is already clear that it is illegal to travel abroad except for a very limited set of exemptions listed on gov.uk.”
The hotel quarantine rules apply to British and Irish Nationals or third-country nationals with residence rights in the UK.
Until the start date of the quarantine, these travellers have to self-isolate at home for 10 days.
They are not able to use the Test to Release scheme to cut the quarantine period.
Everyone else is banned from entering the UK if coming from the “red list” countries.
Countries banned by the UK
Angola
Argentina
Bolivia
Botswana
Brazil
Burundi
Cape Verde
Chile
Colombia
The Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ecuador
Eswatini
French Guiana
Guyana
Lesotho
Malawi
Mauritius
Mozambique
Namibia
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Portugal (including Madeira and the Azores)
Rwanda
Seychelles
South Africa
Suriname
Tanzania
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Uruguay
Venezuela
Zambia
Zimbabwe
“Not exactly rushing into this one, are they?” a third tweeted.
Although the travel ban list currently features 33 countries, it is aways “under review” so more destinations could be added.
Last week Charles speculated Spain might be added to the list.
“Keep an eye on #Spain” he tweeted after successfully predicting the United Arab Emirates would be added to the banned list.
It’s is unlikely a blanket hotel quarantine rule will apply to all countries, with the Government labelling this “unfeasible.”
