- Managed Quarantine Facilities to come into effect from 15 February 2021
- Discussions with transport and hospitality industry already underway and commercial specification issued to hotels
The Department for Health and Social Care has confirmed that from the 15 February2021 anyone travelling to the UK from a country on the UK’s travel ban list will be required to quarantine in a government approved facility for a period of 10 days.
The DHSC have issued a commercial specification to hotels near ports and airports, asking for proposals on how they can support the delivery of Managed Quarantine Facilities ahead of formal contracts being awarded. General Sir Gordon Messenger will also play an important role in advising the government on the delivery of the programme.
Over the past week, the government has met with stakeholders from across the aviation, maritime, hotel and hospitality industry, and will now continue to finalise plans to enable implementation from 15 February.
A DHSC spokesperson said:
Throughout the pandemic, the government has put in place proportionate measures, informed by the advice of scientists, and that has led to some of the toughest border regimes in the world. It is currently illegal to go on holiday, and passengers travelling to the UK must provide proof of a negative test before they travel, and self-isolate on arrival. With increased police presence at airports and more physical checks at addresses to make sure people are self-isolating, we are taking decisive action.
We are now working at pace to secure the facilities we need to roll out managed quarantine for British nationals returning home from the most high risk countries, and are rightly engaging with representatives from the hospitality, maritime and aviation industry, and learning from our friends around the world. In the face of new variants, it is important that the government continues to take the necessary steps to protect people and save lives.
TravelGate is a local family run independent travel agency in the centre of Harrogate.
Melanie O’Boyle, Owner of TravelGate Harrogate, said:
As we move into February, I don’t think many of us would have believed we would still be dealing with lockdowns and travel restrictions around the world.
It is currently illegal to go on holiday. Again who would have thought we would ever utter those words.
The news yesterday of the new quarantine arrangements to be enforced on the 15 February state that anyone travelling to the UK from a country on the UK’s travel ban list will be required to quarantine in a government approved facility for a period of 10 days, to reduce transmissions of COVID-19. A positive move, albeit one that we would have all benefitted from much earlier. Other countries such as Australia and New Zealand implemented this very early on in the pandemic and are hugely benefitting from this early decision.
As a country we do need to take the necessary steps to protect people and save lives and it is with hope that we in the travel Industry start to see a light at the end of what has been a very dark tunnel.
It feels like we are starting to move in the right direction, with the vaccination program well on its way and other enforced measures and thankfully the number of cases decreasing.
Everyone has been affected in some way by the dreadful impact of COVID19 in the past 12 months. We are one of the industries that has continued to be hit through these hard times with the impact of restrictions been placed and lifted on numerous occasions. We keep up with the ever constant changes so we can best advise our clients. We are looking forward to the time when we can get people travelling safely and confidently again and we are there to help make these important travel decisions.
When we are allowed and when you are ready to travel or want to start planning something to look forward to, we ask that you remember to support your local independents, as we can only be here with your continued support.
