Coronavirus: What’s stopping me from dodging hotel quarantine?

Q I have read your story about hotel quarantine and the fact that Scottish passengers arriving in England will be expected to isolate at the airport they arrive at. Just how do they plan to manage this, if I fly into an English airport and drive or take the train to Scotland?

I have no issue with undertaking quarantine, but I don’t want to be in some poor quality, government-selected hotel.

Name supplied

A The English and Scottish governments have both decided to implement hotel quarantine next Monday, 15 February, but they have very different policies.

Arrivals in England will have to pay £1,750 for 10 nights in a hotel room only if they have been in one of 33 “red list” countries – including Portugal, the UAE, South Africa and the whole of South America.

But the Scottish government regards this as insufficient and has introduced much tougher rules for arriving travellers than those for England. All people arriving directly into Scotland from outside the UK and Ireland will go immediately into “managed quarantine” at one of six hotels at Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports – even if they have arrived from a very low-risk country.

The Scottish government also wants people who arrive in England but whose final destination is Scotland to be identified and quarantined in England. While it is not clear that the Westminster government has agreed, in theory such a plan should be manageable.

Everyone coming to the UK has to complete a passenger locator form, giving full details of where they will be coming in and when, and their plans for self-isolation.

Those will be passed to Public Health Scotland for everyone who gives the country as their destination. Therefore the authorities should be able to keep tabs on arrivals – who, I think, will number mere dozens rather than hundreds or thousands, because people have been given weeks of warning of the plan. Passengers will be expected to declare their liability to quarantine.

I can see some Scottish travellers legally staying in hotels in England for 10 days on “normal” rather than “managed” self-isolation – since the cost will be much lower than the quarantine rate. But whatever system is used, you will be expected to follow the rules in order to reduce the risk. The Scottish government says 40 per cent of cases of new variants were brought in from outside the UK.

Do I need approval to leave the UK to help my family?

Q A couple of weeks ago Priti Patel announced that international travel was largely banned, and that British travellers may need to get permission to go abroad. I have permission from the Canadian authorities to travel “for caring reasons” to support my son and his wife who have just had a baby. They have no family in Canada.

Do I have to apply somewhere to get UK permission? Is it the responsibility of the airlines to check for valid reasons? I am reluctant to book anything until I know what the procedure is going to be, if there is to be one. I have searched for information on this but can’t find any updates.

Liz H

A On 27 January, the home secretary, Priti Patel, said: “It is clear that there are still too many people coming in and out of our country each day.” She said that travel should be for “only the small number of people for whom it is absolutely essential”.

Ms Patel told parliament: “We will introduce a new requirement so that people wishing to travel must first make a declaration as to why they need to travel. This ‘reason for travel’ will be checked by carriers prior to departure.” Fifteen days on, nothing has happened, so I am unable to tell you what the protocol may be. On your behalf I have asked the Home Office for guidance, but so far the government is unable to help.

I hope, though, I can reassure you that you should be able to travel without any impediment from the UK point of view – beyond the need to take a Covid test within the 72 hours before you fly to Britain, and quarantine for 10 days when you return.

The ban on most international travel is simply an extension of the government’s rule: “You must not leave your home unless you have a reasonable excuse.” Fortunately, there is an explicit exemption “for caring responsibilities”. The fact that your responsibilities are in a different country is not relevant.

I imagine getting permission from the Canadians for your visit has involved a fair amount of red tape, and that you will have an impressive letter confirming that you are a trusted traveller. In the unlikely event that anyone involved in your outbound trip – from railway station staff to airline officials – should query your entitlement, I believe presenting them with such a document will be quite sufficient.

I hope your journey goes well.

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Will we be forced to isolate if we travel via Eurotunnel?

Q Do you think there’s any chance they’ll end up forcing people who arrive via Eurotunnel to quarantine in a hotel at any point? We will be coming through at the end of March and are quite worried about it.

Name supplied

A in this extraordinary time, when an unprecedented number of restrictions and requirements have been placed on UK travellers, I am not ruling anything out. However I rate it as extremely unlikely that people coming in via Eurotunnel shuttles from Calais to Folkestone in March will be required to isolate at great expense in a hotel for 11 nights. The measures that come into force on Monday 15 February apply only to people arriving from the 33 “red list” countries. The only European country in this category is Portugal; the rest comprise largely southern African and South American countries.

At present no one is allowed to drive from Portugal through Spain and France to Calais for a shuttle or a ferry to Kent because neither Dover nor Folkestone is on the list of arrival points with quarantine hotels available. These are currently restricted to a few airports, so such travellers will need to fly into Heathrow, Gatwick, London City or Birmingham airport. It is feasible that the scheme could be extended to Dover or Folkestone.

In your position my main concern would be focused on the rules for travelling through France; at present there is a national curfew in place from 6pm to 6am, and experience over the past year indicate that tighter restrictions on movements may be deployed.

In addition, anyone heading for the UK needs to provide a negative Covid test taken within 72 hours of departure. Yet while it is possible that both French restrictions and UK testing requirements will still be in force in six weeks’ time, my feeling is that they are likely to be eased or lifted completely.

Does a layover in Dubai mean I’ll have to isolate?

Q I am in the Maldives. I am returning to the UK on 21 February. I have a three-hour layover in Dubai before flying to Dublin, then back to the UK. Does this count as not visiting Dubai?

Chris C

A It very much counts as visiting Dubai in particular and the UAE as a whole. Even though you will simply be changing planes in the Gulf, the UAE is one of the 33 countries on the UK government’s “red list”. They have been singled out because of government concerns about new variants of coronavirus being imported.

From Monday 15 February until further notice, anyone arriving from these nations will be subject to the most onerous controls ever deployed for travellers to the UK. They must book flights to arrive at one of four commercial airports – Heathrow, Gatwick, London City or Birmingham – and book a “quarantine package” for a local hotel for 11 nights. This will cost £1,750 for individual arrivals, with reductions for other people sharing the same room.

They must also comply with a new rule that all travellers to the UK must undergo three Covid tests: one within the 72 hours before their departure to the UK, and then one on each of days two and eight (the cost of the last two is wrapped into the quarantine package price).

The reason you are flying to Dublin, rather than to one of the British airports normally served by Emirates, is because the government has banned all flights from the UAE. Accordingly, UK Border Force officials will be in evidence to check that every arrival has correctly completed a passenger locator form, on which you must mention the fact that you have been in Dubai within the past 10 days. Failure to do so makes you liable to 10 years in prison.

To avoid the 11-night stay, you have two possibilities. Either travel back earlier to dodge the 15 February deadline, or book a new flight that does not involve the UAE. I imagine the latter is preferable to losing a week of your holiday. The obvious options are British Airways nonstop from Male in the Maldives to Heathrow, Qatar Airways via Doha or Austrian Airlines via Vienna. While these are likely to cost around £500 one way, they will be much cheaper than a quarantine package – which I calculate will work out at £10 for every minute you spend at Dubai airport.

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