The government has confirmed that anyone travelling to the UK from a country detailed on the “red list”, will be charged £1,750 for their mandatory 10-day stay at a quarantine hotel.
The new measure come into force on Monday 15 February and those who fail to quarantine in a government-sanctioned hotel for the full 10 days will be liable of fines up to £10,000. Those who are found to have lied on their passenger locator forms about the destination they are returning from could also face up to 10 years in prison.
Anyone required to stay in a quarantine hotel will need to reserve a room online in advance by using a specialist booking system that opens on Thursday. The overall £1,750 cost includes the hotel stay, food, transportation to the accommodation, and additional necessary testing which we discuss below.
A new testing regime for all international travellers will also start on Monday 15 February, irrespective of whether they have travelled from a country on the “red list” or not.
The new measures mean that in addition to the mandatory Covid-19 test all arrivals to the UK must provide, those arriving in England will also be required to take another two Covid-19 tests on days two and eight of their 10-day isolate period, regardless of whether they are isolating at home or in a hotel.
There will also be fines and sanctions for anyone who fails to take or be able to provide proof of the new mandatory Covid-19 tests. These include:
- Anyone who fails to provide the initial mandatory Covid-19 test upon arrival to the UK will face a £1,000 fine.
- Anyone who fails to take the second Covid-19 test when isolating will be faced with a £2,000 penalty and also be required to isolate for an additional 14-day period.
- Lastly, anyone who fails to isolate in the designated hotel will be fined between £5,000 – £10,000.
The new measures may seem a little harsh but they are designed to keep emerging variants of the Covid-19 strain out of UK so that we can keep our country safe and return to ‘normal’ as soon as possible.
It goes without saying that none of the above costs are recoverable from your travel insurance policy.
