'Red list' travellers to the UK will have to pay £1,750 for hotel quarantine
Health secretary Matt Hancock has laid out quarantine plans for UK arrivals
Last updated 24th May 2022
UK residents returning to the UK from red listed countries will have to pay £1,750 for hotel quarantine, according to the health secretary.
Matt Hancock has laid out the Government's four part strategy for fighting the spread of Covid-19, including a detailed quarantine strategy for returning UK residents.
From Monday, hotel quarantine will come into force for returning UK residents from red listed countries, and these travellers will be limited to which ports they can arrive.
Travellers will have to pay for the service, which includes includes the hotel, transport and testing, and pre-book online which will be available from Thursday.
There will be big punishments for not following the rules, the Health Secretary announced fines of up to £10,000 and prison sentences of 10 years.
4,600 hotel rooms for quarantining
Mr Hancock confirmed that 16 hotels have been contracted for an initial 4,600 rooms in England with the aim of securing more as required.
He said: “Passengers will only be able to enter the UK through a small number of ports that currently account for the vast majority of passenger arrivals.
"When they arrive, they’ll be escorted to a designated hotel which will be closed to guests who aren’t quarantining, for 10 days or for longer if they test positive for Covid-19 during their stay.
He added: "People will need to remain in their rooms and of course will not be allowed to mix with other guests and there will be visible security in place to ensure compliance"
£10,000 fine and 10 year prison sentence for breaking Covid traveller rules
Meanwhile, from Monday all international arrivals will be required by law to take two PCR tests, on day two and day eight of their quarantine period, in addition to the test they must present 72 hours before departure.
Fines will also be introduced for people who fail to comply with the new measures.
Mr Hancock said there would be "a £1,000 penalty for any international arrival who fails to take a mandatory test, a £2,000 penalty for any international arrival who fails to take the second mandatory test, as well as automatically extending their quarantine period to 14 days, and a £5,000 fixed penalty notice – rising to £10,000 – for arrivals who fail to quarantine in a designated hotel.”
He added: “Anyone who lies on the passenger locator form and tries to conceal that they’ve been in a country on the red list in the 10 days before arrival here will face a prison sentence of up to 10 years.”
Mr Hancock described responding to the new strains as "mission critical".
Coronavirus FAQs
What is Covid-19?
Covid-19 emerged as a virus in December 2019 as the first cases are reported in Wuhan, China. Scientifically known as SARS-CoV-2, the virus created a global pandemic as it began to spread around the world. Symptoms can range from very mild to severe, causing death in some cases. Some people are completely asymptomatic and do not realise they even have the virus.
Has there been a virus like this before?
The SARS pandemic in 2003 was similar to Covid-19 in that it was also caused by a coronavirus. SARS stands for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. The global outbreak of SARS lasted from 2002-2003, infecting over 8,000 people and killing 774. Covid-19 and SARS are both respiratory illnesses, but SARS was much more deadly and less infectious.
What are the main symptoms?
The NHS say the main Covid-19 symptoms are a high temperature, a new and continuous cough and loss or change to taste of sense or smell. NHS advises people with Covid-19 to take plenty of rest, drink lots of fluids, and take paracetamol for a high temperature.
What was the Government reaction?
The UK Government announced the first of several lockdowns in March 2020. By the end of the month, more than 100 countries around the world introduce full or partial lockdowns, preventing people from going to work, restricting everyday tasks and affecting the livelihoods of billions of people globally.
Which countries have been worst hit?
During the first year of the pandemic, the US recorded the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the world and the most deaths, reporting an unprecedented 100,000 new cases in one day on November 4th 2020. Thousands of new cases were recorded on the same date in India (46,000+), the United Kingdom (22,000+), Brazil (17,000+) and Mexico (5,000+), while Ireland records less than 1,000 (578). Hundreds of other countries also reported a high rate of infection.
How have vaccines fought against Covid-19?
Vaccines began being approved for use across the globe. By January 2021, the UK approved the use of three different vaccines. The Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine, Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and the Moderna vaccine are rolled out to the public, with older people and those with greater health concerns getting priority. In April 2022, just under 53 million people had received at least one dose of the vaccine.
What are new Covid variants?
Four new variants of Covid-19 were discovered around the world. Beta was found in South Africa, Gamma in Brazil and Delta in India, while the Alpha variant was first located in Kent, UK. New variants are not likely to make someone more seriously ill than Covid-19 would, but variants like Delta have a higher infection rate, meaning it can be more easily spread.
The Omicron variant was first detected late 2021 in South Africa. Since then, it has become one of the most dominant variants in the world, with its own sub strains - BA.4 and BA.5.