Easing of virus restrictions to include an isolation crackdown on international passengers

Britain will this week have a road map for easing restrictions but it will include a new restriction: isolation for international arrivals.

Boris Johnson observes silence in Downing Street to mark the 75th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day on Friday. Picture: Pool/AFP

All travellers coming to Britain will finally be required to self-isolate for two weeks in an effort to avoid a second peak of the coronavirus pandemic, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce early on Monday Australian time in his “road map” for ending shutdown restrictions.

This may come as a surprise in Australia, where self-isolation for overseas arrivals has been required since mid-March and compulsory quarantine since late March.

The British Prime Minister will say in an address to the nation at 7pm Sunday (4am Monday AEST) that passengers arriving at airports and ports, including Britons returning from abroad, will have to self-isolate for 14 days.

Under the measures, which are likely to come into force in early June, travellers will have to provide the address at which they will self-isolate on arrival.

The authorities will conduct spot checks and those found to be breaking the rules face fines of up to £1000 ($1900) or even being deported.

However, the aviation and holiday industry has warned that the move could be catastrophic for business. It is likely to end any lingering hopes that Britons could take their summer holidays abroad this year.

Mr Johnson has vowed to move with “maximum caution” as he reopens the economy. Some measures will be lifted in the coming week, enabling people to exercise more than once a day and visit garden centres, and he will drop the “stay at home, save lives” slogan.

Many of the main restrictions will remain until June, when the phased return of schools is expected to begin.

Allowing people from more than one household to mix has slipped down the order of priorities amid concerns about the complexity of the scheme and the difficulty in enforcing it.

Cabinet ministers are increasingly concerned that they are being kept in the dark about the science behind lifting the lockdown. One minister said that if felt like a “Potemkin cabinet” in which decisions were made before ministers had met.

The government has faced criticism for allowing commercial flights into Britain without requiring passengers to be quarantined or face temperature checks. Last month it was revealed that about 15,000 were arriving each day.

Ministers have said that making such a move earlier would not have made a difference because of the prevalence of the virus in the country. They believe that once the rate of transmission has fallen significantly a tougher approach will be required.

Arrivals will be required to fill in a digital form providing details of where they plan to self-isolate for 14 days. The forms will be checked at airports, ports and Eurostar stations.

Travellers from Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man will be exempt, as will lorry drivers bringing crucial supplies. There is no indication of how long the scheme will last.

The measures mirror those introduced in countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. France has also announced a 14-day quarantine for travellers from this Monday, although Britons and those arriving from states within the EU’s free-travel Schengen zone will be exempt.

Austria requires arrivals to be quarantined for two weeks unless they produce a medical certificate confirming that they are free of coronavirus. Vienna Airport charges incoming passengers 190 euros ($320) to take a coronavirus test.

A government source said: “These measures will help protect the British public and reduce the transmission of the virus as we move into the next phase of our response.”

The move is being resisted by the aviation industry. British Airways’s parent company said this week that it would not restart its main flying program into the country if people were forced to self-isolate for a fortnight. Ministers have been urged to review the procedures each week to make sure they are still needed.

Karen Dee, chief executive of the Airport Operators Association, said: “Quarantine would not only have a devastating impact on the UK aviation industry, but also on the wider economy. Aviation is an enabler for many other industries, such as manufacturers, tourism and the hospitality industry.”

The number of flights in and out of the country has declined by about 90 per cent since the lockdown started. However, there are indications that airline traffic is slowly coming back to life. On Wednesday this week there were 714 flights in and out, the highest number for a single day since the lockdown was imposed.

On Thursday the Office for National Statistics will publish the first results of a mass surveillance operation to track the spread of the infection.

With Graeme Paton and Francis Elliott

The Times