Coronavirus: UK travellers forced into sudden quarantine

Britons returning from holiday in Spain ordered into quarantine hours after the UK confirmed Spain was a safe ‘air bridge.’

Passengers arrive at Heathrow airport. Picture: AFP.

Quick-acting quarantine measures implemented by the British government to try and temper COVID-19 infections has resulted in chaos and fury among 600,000 travellers.

On Saturday the UK suddenly announced two weeks mandatory quarantine for travellers arriving back from Spanish holidays – just hours after reconfirming Spain was one of the safe “air bridge’’ countries for travel that did not require any quarantine.

The sudden about-face has now thrown the August holiday season into disarray as families fear the rules could change for any country at any time and many can’t risk a two-week period in self isolation at the end of the break.

Transport Minister Grant Schapps has been caught out on holiday in Spain and will have to quarantine at home for a fortnight upon his return.

The decision to impose quarantine measures on Spain, one of the favoured holiday destinations for Britons seeking some sun, has thrown up legal difficulties for employees.

Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday that employers would have to wear the costs, insisting employers could not penalise those who had to stay at home.

“If someone is following the law in relation to quarantine and self-isolating the way they should, they can’t have penalties taken against them,’’ he told Sky News.

But employment experts say employers are not compelled to pay wages for employees who are not at work.

Visitors on Spain’s Canary Islands, around 2500km from the Barcelona outbreak of coronavirus cases that spurred the British decision, are angry to have been caught up in the surprise decision.

On Friday the Spanish health ministry reported 900 new COVID-19 infections across Zaragoza, Pamplona and Barcelona and while the UK Foreign Office has introduced the quarantine, they are not recommending travellers cut short their holidays.

The government’s abrupt changing of the rules has only increased the public anger at the government’s handling of the pandemic.

While cases of coronavirus are increasing slightly across European countries – with lockdowns abandoned – there has not been a corresponding rise in the death rates.

In the UK COVID-19 has steadied at around 700 infections and 14 deaths a day in recent weeks, well down on daily peaks in March of 5000 infections and 1000 deaths.

In France Prime Minister Jean Castex says arrivals will be subject to on-the-spot coronavirus tests as the country experiences around 1000 new cases a day.

Germany is also providing free coronavirus tests for travellers at Dusseldorf, Cologne-Bonn, and Dortmund airports.

The focus on testing comes as the Czech Republic is the latest European country to reject future lockdowns to handle future spikes in COVID-19 cases.

Czech prime minister Andrej Babis told Pravo the country would not impose a second national lockdown. Mr Babis said the country shouldn’t be intimidated by any rise in infection numbers as outbreaks would be contained with ‘’smart quarantine’’, and urged a focus back onto the economy.

Mr Babis’s remarks follow the lead of France and the UK, which have also abandoned further damaging national lockdowns.

Earlier this month UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson – already facing a dive in GDP of over 22 per cent, said another lockdown was a “nuclear option’’.

In France, Mr Castex has said his aim was to prepare France for a possible second wave “while preserving our daily life, our economic and social life”.

He said lockdowns like the one imposed in March resulted in “disastrous’’ economic and human consequences.