Hotel quarantine for UK arrivals ‘will start in weeks and cost £1,000 each’
UK arrivals could be forced to pay more than £1,000 each for 10-day quarantine hotel stays, with the Government set to reveal a plan today.
Boris Johnson will make a final decision on Tuesday as fears grow over the new Brazilian and South African coronavirus strains.
Senior ministers are set to discuss several options this morning but Whitehall sources have suggested hotel quarantine could apply only to people coming from countries with more contagious strains.
The system could take up to three weeks to implement, with travellers expected to pay more than £1,000 out of their own pockets, The Times claims.
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi warned it is ‘far too early’ for Brits to be thinking about booking summer holidays, as he confirmed an announcement on the matter will be made later today.
He told Sky News: ‘There’s still 37,000 people in hospital with COVID at the moment, it’s far too early for us to even speculate about the summer.’
Home Secretary Priti Patel and Health Secretary Matt Hancock are said to be pushing for a mandatory quarantine for all arrivals.
However, Mr Johnson and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps are believed to favour a more targeted approach that would apply to travellers returning from high-risk countries.
A small number of countries have adopted the measure so far, with a 14-day stay in an Australian quarantine hotel costing £1,692 for an adult. A similar stay costs £1,630 in New Zealand and £642 in Thailand.
Australia has gone a week without any cases, while New Zealand had been Covid-free for two months until one case was detected last week.
Travel industry sources say they expect mandatory hotels to be introduced ‘imminently’.
The Best Western hotel chain has confirmed bosses are waiting for a ‘green light’ from the Government on the move.
However, the Airport Operators Association and Airlines UK have warned tougher rules will be ‘catastrophic’ for the industry.
A statement said: ‘We have fully supported the Government to do what is right in the face of this pandemic, but policy should be based on evidence and there must be a roadmap out of these restrictions as soon as it is safe.
‘The impact of further measures would be catastrophic. ‘They will impact vital freight and PPE (personal protective equipment) supplies and jeopardise tens of thousands of jobs and the many businesses that depend on aviation.
‘The Government cannot achieve its global Britain aspirations without airlines and airports.’
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