Coronavirus: France reveals reciprocal quarantine plans for UK arrivals

Individuals arriving in France from the UK must self-isolate for 14 days from eight June, the French authorities has introduced.

It comes after Residence Secretary Priti Patel revealed quarantine plans for guests to the UK from the identical date.

France mentioned it could impose reciprocal measures for any European nation imposing a quarantine.

Travellers arriving in France from Spain by aircraft will even be requested to enter quarantine from Monday.

Talking at Friday’s Downing Avenue briefing, Ms Patel mentioned travellers to the UK might want to inform the federal government the place they’ll quarantine, and face enforcement by means of random spot checks and £1,000 fines in England if they don’t comply.

She mentioned the measure would “scale back the chance of circumstances crossing our border”.

Lorry drivers, seasonal farm staff, and coronavirus medics will probably be exempt.

The requirement will even not apply to these travelling from the Republic of Eire, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

Media playback is unsupported in your gadget

If an individual doesn’t have appropriate lodging to go to, they are going to be required to remain in “services organized by the federal government” on the particular person’s personal expense, in accordance with Border Pressure chief Paul Lincoln.

The Residence Workplace mentioned the brand new coverage will probably be in place throughout the UK, though how it’s enforced in Scotland, Wales and Northern Eire will probably be decided by the devolved administrations.

Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon mentioned discussions would happen with Police Scotland to work out how the coverage will probably be carried out.

‘Not shutting down’

Ms Patel informed the briefing the measures weren’t the identical as fully shutting the UK border to guests.

“We’re not shutting down fully. We’re not closing our borders,” she mentioned.

And requested in regards to the prospect of overseas holidays this summer season, the house secretary added: “That is completely not about reserving holidays. We need to keep away from a second wave and that’s completely important.”

So-called “air bridges” – agreements with nations which have low an infection charges permitting vacationers to journey with out quarantining – won’t be in place initially, the federal government mentioned.

The brand new measure, beforehand introduced by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, will probably be reviewed each three weeks as soon as it’s launched.

However airways have mentioned a quarantine requirement would “successfully kill air journey” – and one airport boss described the plans as a “blunt software”.

The federal government at present recommends worldwide journey solely when completely crucial, and no one ought to journey in the event that they show any coronavirus signs.

Victoria Bacon from ABTA, the journey business commerce physique, informed the BBC the federal government must give you some “wider, extra ahead pondering” methods for the business.

“There’s a complete vary of help, not simply monetary, that the federal government can put in place to start out serving to the sector and we have heard little or no from them. We actually desperately want some assist,” she mentioned.

What does the brand new system contain?

Passengers arriving within the UK will probably be required to fill out a web-based locator contact kind – offering particulars of the place they’ll spend their 14 days in self-isolation.

The Residence Workplace mentioned the proposed lodging might want to meet crucial necessities, equivalent to a resort or a non-public tackle with associates or household.

There will probably be a high-quality of £100 for failure to finish the shape, and the Border Pressure may have the ability to refuse entry to non-UK residents who don’t adjust to the brand new laws.

New arrivals will probably be informed they could be contacted at any time throughout their quarantine and, in England, could also be visited by public well being authorities conducting spot checks.

They are going to be informed to keep away from public transport and journey to their lodging by automobile “the place attainable”, and to not exit to purchase meals or different necessities “the place they’ll depend on others”.

In England, a breach of self-isolation could be punishable by a £1,000 mounted penalty discover, or prosecution and a limiteless high-quality for persistent offenders.

Why now?

Evaluation by Helen Catt, political correspondent

The large query being requested about quarantine is: why now?

The federal government argues that it merely would not have made sufficient of a distinction whereas the virus was spreading extensively throughout the UK.

But it surely hasn’t, thus far, totally defined why such a blanket measure was not launched a lot earlier within the outbreak, earlier than the virus took maintain.

Individuals coming back from Wuhan metropolis and Hubei province in China had been put into isolation for 14 days from late January.

Later, these coming back from Italy had been informed to self-isolate.

However the measure was not prolonged to travellers from each nation.

There are additionally questions on how this may work in observe and what it is going to imply for the journey business, which is already struggling large losses.

The Residence Workplace has printed a full checklist of exemptions to the brand new necessities.

The checklist consists of highway haulage and freight staff, medical professionals travelling to combat Covid-19, and seasonal farm staff who will self-isolate the place they’re working.

Ms Patel mentioned the brand new measures goal to “preserve the transmission fee down and stop a devastating second wave”.

“I totally anticipate nearly all of folks will do the proper factor and abide by these measures. However we’ll take enforcement motion towards the minority of people that endanger the security of others,” she added:

Labour’s shadow residence secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds mentioned the get together supported the brand new measures “however is evident they’re no substitute for a long-term, effectively thought by means of method”.

The quantity of people that have died with coronavirus within the UK has reached 36,393 – an increase of 351 on Thursday’s determine.

• CORONAVIRUS SPECIAL: “Science has by no means moved so shortly”
• 90s NOSTALGIA: 24 tracks to take you into the weekend