Quarantine on arrival to UK

[Alex50]

Wouldn’t it be easier just to test people on arrival? Couldn’t the airline companies just add the test price into to the flight price?

For holiday travel I don’t see it happening. Who has an additional 14 days to tag onto annual leave to stay home? Ok if you can wfh I guess.

Where I am (Channel Islands) the govt are thinking about 14 days for anyone coming directly from outside the U.K. the only place we can get to directly is france.

When this whole thing kicked off people coming from the U.K. weren’t questioned or asked to isolate. Only those coming directly from the affected countries. Which was impossible. You had to show your boarding pass from your incoming flight and we’re exempt from isolation if flying in from the U.K. given that to get to other places you have to fly via gatwick....it was pretty redundant.

@AuntieStella

So you think this Govt can do all this when it cannot get PPE, train infection control trac n tracers, get an app to work, keep CV out of care homes, restart schooling, didn't order antibody tests from roche in a timely manner.... or stop their own advisors travelling around the country WITH covid-19?
These measures are coming into force within 2 weeks, they are utterly pointless, will destroy the travel industry and we will be the only country in europe with such rules enforced months after Europe did the same and as Europe re starts its tourism industry.

We should be focusing on our own home grown infection rates which are still extremely high, around 60k every 10 days, restart the travel industry with mandatory tests

Well, there was a huge slew of people who volunteered to help NHS, many of whom are still waiting for roles.

You don't need PPE to knock (and then stand back) and check if the person is at home. Nor do you need training as you would for trackers.

They found enough people, to work with councils to deliver food parcels to the shield community (they arranged capacity for 1.5m, even though many did not opt in). So yes, it could be done.

I think pretty much everything this government has done has been too late and very half hearted. We won’t even quarantine properly like they do in other countries yet it destroy the travel industry. We might as well not bother now to be honest.

We should have done this as well as mass testing back in the initial stages, we had warning and we are an island.

I think cases in brazil are taking off. Surely we want people quarantined before mixing around?

I would even go as far as saying - split UK into smaller regions with regional quarantine. That way you can lift restrictions proportional to the number of cases in an area. Why are people allowed to travel everywhere? They can spread it to places that have low cases where they have most likelihood of successful exit from lockdown

I think they’d have to put people in hotels at passenger cost

They couldn't just frogmarch you to a hotel with no idea on the cost though, surely? Lots of people stuck in Aus are travellers who are having trouble getting refunds from multiple cancelled flights - two weeks in a hotel in London would financially destroy me right now - especially since the industry I work in completely collapsed while we were traveling. Travel insurance have basically said they aren't covering anything Covid related either. It's a bit worrying!

The only way to really make this work would be to make new arrivals stay in an airport hotel for 14 days at their own expense. The country most praised for its response to this crisis, SK, did this. This half-assed 'quarantine' just discourages travel and thus damages the economy for no obvious benefit. I think it's kind of 'for show' as posters above have suggested. I expect it will be quietly dropped after a few weeks.

They couldn't just frogmarch you to a hotel with no idea on the cost though, surely?

Why not? If you've made the choice to travel to a certain country knowing that this was the arrangement, then you'd have to put up with it. SK did this.

Imo quarantine will last 3 weeks until the end of June and then be lifted for european flights.
It's got little to do with preventing infection and much to do with being seen to do something. There are very few flights in June, July however will be busier. We need the aviation industry and we need the UK to return to work.

Why not? If you've made the choice to travel to a certain country knowing that this was the arrangement

I'm not talking about holiday makers now, I mean all the people who have been abroad since before it kicked off

It’s definitely just for show. The government are still going for herd immunity, it is so hard to manage, testing would make more sense.

Re cost.
In China you chose from different quarantine hotels. Dh paid about £45 per night, including all meals. He could also have items delivered three times per week.

Thanks that helpful to know 👍🏻 I was thinking London prices of £100+ per night

Thanks that helpful to know 👍🏻 I was thinking London prices of £100+ per night

It would have to be an airport hotel. Given that they are empty now, I'm sure they'd be happy to offer a good deal to quarantined passengers.

I am surprised that no one is mentioning that lorry drivers are exempt. They can come into UK from continent & go anywhere. No quarantine.

I'm not at all bothered about that. Just bemused that folk have such strange ideas about magnitude of risk & acceptable risk.

Yes agreed and just flights I don’t think ferries are included?

Based on this morning's news reports, I think that the travel industry will be in overdrive raising shit with MPs over the weekend - the currently teeny, but hopefully growing, rebellion will gain traction next week and they'll drop it.

The Times is reporting that they brought in this measure because 'the public can't understand why flights are still coming in'.

It's all theatre.

Also they report they'll be checking on 20% of quarantined households and the fine is £1000. I would imagine it will be self-funding?

This is going to absolutely decimate the UK just at the time that employers will be expected to pay 25% of their employee's salaries.

It is a shockingly bad decision. I think Johnson's days might just be numbered - I don't see how the party will stand for this indefinitely?

*It's all theatre.

Also they report they'll be checking on 20% of quarantined households and the fine is £1000. I would imagine it will be self-funding?*

Yes, all theatre. Quietly dropped or heavily modified within weeks I expect.

Also, while £1000 is an awful lot of money to me and to many people, some might consider the small chance of losing a grand to be worth the risk. Someone posted a link to the quarantine arrangements in Taiwan. You're also allowed to quarantine at home, but it's much more strictly monitored and the fine is much higher. For some people, £1000 isn't that much and they'd be prepared to risk it. I doubt it will be tightly policed in any case.

Passengers using Travel by land will be included... but presumably not plane/boat/ferry/train crew staff.

The news today also says there's a £100 fine for refusing to fill in the form with the contact details on it. From the Times: "People who fail to fill out the form before their arrival will be given an opportunity to complete the document when they reach the UK or face an on-the-spot fine of £100 if they do not."

So does that mean you just pay £100 and go on your merry way?!

I'd be up for that.

I'm curious how South Korea is getting on with this strategy. They had 1-1.5 million visitors each month typically in last few years. I can't find the current counts of monthly arrivals, but it must be < 100,000 I should think. Yet they are still linking many new cases to arrivals. Meantime their economy is still being hammered with no clear respite in sight. They are struggling to get their schools open. Quarantine of arrivals doesn't solve much?

The economy of South Korea is heavily dependent on exports, so of course it's going to be hard hit no matter what they do domestically.

So does that mean you just pay £100 and go on your merry way?!

I'd be up for that.
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No, this is the form they expect you hand in upon your return that tells them where to find you.

i saw on tv that south Korea has body temperature scanners at airports.
when they saw anyone showing high temperature they pulled them off.