I’m not sure why this wasn’t introduced months ago, but the UK has now revealed full details of an upcoming mandatory 14-day quarantine for arriving travelers.
As of June 8, 2020, the United Kingdom will require all inbound passengers to self-quarantine for 14 days (this is being reduced to 10 days as of December 2020). This applies both to foreign visitors, as well as UK citizens returning home. The way this works:
- All arriving passengers will have to fill out passenger locator form, which reveals plans for self-quarantining, onward travel information (if any), etc.; not filling this out could result in a £100 fine
- Arriving passengers must travel directly to the address where they plan to self-quarantine, preferably by car (it’s a bit ridiculous that they’re allowing people to take public transportation, in my opinion)
- If planned accommodations don’t satisfy authorities, arriving visitors will be put up in facilities arranged by the government
- There will be a fine of up to £1,000 for those who don’t obey the self-quarantine
- Arriving passengers will be encouraged — though not required — to download the contact tracing app
- Some travelers will be exempt from the self-quarantine, including freight drivers, doctors, and scientists helping with the pandemic; fruit pickers will be expected to confine at the farms they work at
- Travelers coming from everywhere except Ireland, the Channels Islands, and the Isle of Man, will be subjected to this
The UK plans to review this policy every three weeks based on how the situation progresses, so it sounds like at first this will be valid through late June 2020.
Bottom line
The UK will be adding a mandatory self-quarantine as of June 8, 2020. The policy will initially be in place for three weeks, and then can be extended from there. Prior to that (and for the next few weeks) the UK has no significant restrictions on arriving passengers.
This seems like an appropriate measure given how hard the UK has been hit by COVID-19. At the same time, I think it’s safe to assume that this will destroy any prospect of tourism.
Based on what has been revealed so far, it doesn’t appear that you can even get around the quarantine requirement by getting tested, either before or after traveling. It could be that details of that will still be announced, but you’d think there would be a way for people to avoid the quarantine.
What do you make of the UK’s new mandatory 14-day quarantine?
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