Home Secretary Priti Patel has this afternoon announced that the long talked about two-week quarantines will be imposed on new arrivals to the UK from June 8th.
The mandatory self-isolation will not apply to medics tackling Covid-19, seasonal agricultural workers or people coming in from Ireland with anyone arriving by air, sea or rail being advised to use personal transport to head to their accommodation and once there not leave for 14 days.
Passengers will have to fill in a form providing their contact and travel information so they can be traced if infections arise, and they could be contacted regularly during the 14 days and face random checks from public health authorities to ensure their compliance.
Anyone found to not be in compliance with the new regulations could receive a £1,000 fixed penalty notice or prosecution with an unlimited fine.
Ms Patel said: “As the world begins to emerge from what we hope is the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, we must look to the future and protect the British public by reducing the risk of cases crossing our border.
“We are introducing these new measures now to keep the transmission rate down and prevent a devastating second wave.
“I fully expect the majority of people will do the right thing and abide by these measures. But we will take enforcement action against the minority of people who endanger the safety of others.”
How long will the measures be in place?
The rules will be reviewed every three weeks, so are expected to be in place until at least June 29th.
Who is exempt from the rules?
- Road haulage and freight workers
- Medical professionals travelling to help the coronavirus effort
- Anyone moving from within Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man
- Seasonal agricultural workers who will self-isolate on the property where they are working.
A full list of exemptions to the rule will be published on Friday on gov.uk.
