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Mandatory hotel quarantine to start on 15 February
Around 60 hotels and travel companies are believed to be discussing with the Government plans to quarantine more than 1,000 arrivals to the UK every day from 15 February.
The Government is looking to secure hotel rooms close to 10 UK airports, including London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen.
UK citizens arriving from countries on the Government’s ‘red list’ – of which there are currently 33 – will have to stay in the hotels for 10 days at a cost of about £80 a night.
They’ll be escorted to the hotels by Government-enlisted security officers, who will also be on patrol inside and outside.
Three meals a day will be provided to guests, who will be allowed to leave their rooms only for fresh air and smoking breaks, both of which will be supervised.
Further details – including how to book a hotel room – will be announced next week.
The mandatory hotel quarantine is being introduced in an effort to limit the spread of new variants of coronavirus first identified in South Africa and Brazil.
UK and Irish residents arriving from these countries, as well as most other countries in South America, southern Africa, the United Arab Emirates and Portugal will be among those forced to stay in the quarantine hotels.
Non-UK and Irish citizens from ‘red list’ countries are currently banned from the UK.
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Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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