Beginning this Monday, June 8, at midnight, travelers arriving in Britain must be forced to two weeks of isolation, in an attempt to fight the coronavirus pandemic, which has already killed more than 40,000 people across the Channel. Interior Minister Priti Patel made the announcement on May 22. "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, " said the minister. . "Passengers arriving in the United Kingdom will have to isolate themselves for 14 days and may be contacted regularly throughout this period to ensure compliance with this measure", said a press release from the Home Office.
Travelers under quarantine will still be able to go out and buy food or medicine, take public transportation, and change accommodation if necessary, the Guardian said . If they have nowhere to observe quarantine, the government will help them find a solution at their own expense. Violators will however be subject to a fine of 1,000 pounds (1,118 euros). Random checks will be implemented and the expulsion of foreigners may be considered "as a last resort" in the event of non-compliance with the rules, according to the government. Non-residents may be refused entry to the country if they do not submit to it.
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Exceptions are, however, made for road carriers and medical personnel, as well as for Ireland, but not for travelers arriving from France, as London and Paris had recently suggested. Initially exempt from this quarantine system, France was finally integrated into it and announced its intention to introduce a reciprocal quarantine measure for visitors from Great Britain.
But as several newspapers have announced, several loosening of this measure are envisaged. The British government, which has announced that it will reassess this measure every three weeks, plans to allow air bridges or international corridors with countries that have "low transmission rates" . The countries with which the United Kingdom could establish air bridges will be selected according to their economic importance for the United Kingdom, the level of risk of transmission of the virus, the number of passengers concerned, and measures in place at airports. , according to the Times .
Alarm call
Travelers arriving from Greece, Australia and Portugal could avoid quarantine, according to the Daily Telegraph . The conservative daily reports that Prime Minister Boris Johnson is "personally in favor" of airlift after criticism from the conservative ranks and alarm calls from more than 300 aviation and tourism bosses.
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Owners and general managers of travel and hospitality companies plan to fire up to 60 percent of their staff if quarantine measures are introduced by the government on Monday, says study by Survey Monkey between May 31 and June 1 with 124 company managers and published on Tuesday. "In pursuing quarantine projects without considering the economic consequences, the government is choosing to ignore the damage it will do to the businesses, jobs and lives of all those whose jobs will be lost," said George Morgan-Grenville, CEO of tour operator Red Savannah, spearhead of the anti-quarantine campaign. The IAG group, owner of British Airways and Iberia, has announced that it plans to take legal action against the British government's decision.
Some European countries would be ready to set up these "travel bubbles" or "tourist corridors" from July, to accommodate British tourists who would be exempt from quarantine upon their return, explained the Financial Times on Friday . According to the British economic daily, which quotes government officials in different capitals, London and Ankara are close to an agreement to resume links on July 15 and Portugal could conclude such an agreement before the end of June.
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In Spain, the Minister of Tourism Reyes Maroto spoke on Thursday of the experimentation of "tourist bubbles" in the second half of June in certain provinces, with in particular the arrival of 6,000 German tourists in the Balearic archipelago with the operator TUI. Until now reluctant to welcome travelers from areas with a high infection rate, Reyes Maroto, however, clarified that Spain hoped soon to be able to receive travelers from Great Britain, its "main (market) tourist ” , explains the FT .
Greece has meanwhile decided to reopen its airports to all international flights - including British - from July 1, with random tests on arrivals, reports the FT .
