How will the 14-day UK travel quarantine work?

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• Mickey Mouse says:

  23 May23 May 06:16

  The need to leave the airport by car presumably rules out connecting flights to other parts of the country, but I’m surprised this isn’t covered in the Govt announcement. It is not safe for someone coming off a long haul overnight flight to drive long distances.

• Tony says:

  23 May23 May 07:15

  So a British passport holder working overseas can’t return to the UK just for a weekend?

  • Andrew says:

    23 May23 May 08:05

    Correct.

    • CV3V says:

      23 May23 May 09:07

      What you are saying is that the Border Force has the power to ban a UK resident from leaving the country if they haven’t done the 14 day quarantine?

      • ChrisBCN says:

        23 May23 May 09:14

        I presume they could fine you at the airport but couldn’t stop you from leaving the country. They could then ask the airline to deny you boarding perhaps.

  • GeorgeJ says:

    23 May23 May 11:37

    Actually you can work overseas regularly and return unimpeded. As ever there is no substitute for reading the detail which gives a quarantine exemption for:
    “a person who resides in the UK and who pursues an activity as an employed or self-employed person in another country to which they usually go at least once a week”
    Its down there at the bottom of the list so a UK based person who needs to travel for their job on a regular basis is exempt.
    The real target here is the casual traveller and holidaymaker, they just dont want any large volumes of people going for the odd business trip or holiday. In reality the 14 day rule will keep the volumes down to next to nothing, most of us just wont be bothered to be a clever clogs and take a detour via Ireland or wherever.
    I have trips booked for July and August and now expect the flights to be cancelled for lack of volume if this stays in place.

• Anna says:

  23 May23 May 07:59

  I’ve just seen the current government information on exempted persons and my OH would seem to fall within this. Chances of getting him to travel this summer are pretty low, but this means that if we did take our booked holiday to Spain at the end of July, he would be able to go back to work on our return, but I and our son would have to quarantine for 14 days! Even more bonkers is that if I wasn’t retiring next week, I wouldn’t have to quarantine either as I would be required to return to my old job. The mind boggles.

  • Robert says:

    23 May23 May 08:14

    Also check that the same 14 day quarantine doesn’t apply when arriving in Spain too.
    I’m lucky in that I can work from home so imagine I’ll be able to work and quarantine at the same time.
    The interesting thing for me is that during the quarantine you’re permitted to do an hours exercise outdoors and essential food shopping, knowing my luck that’ll be when I get a knock at the door, just like when waiting for a parcel!

    • Anna says:

      23 May23 May 08:42

      I think they will lift that in Spain unless they have another spike, there have been protests this week against the government because of the damage to the economy. It’s the other restrictions which will put people off, like limited beach access and having to wear a mask outside.

      • Lady London says:

        23 May23 May 11:54

        is a suntan around the edges of a mask going to be the new beach look?

        • Anna says:

          23 May23 May 14:50

          It’ll be the summer equivalent of the ski goggles look.

  • Lady London says:

    23 May23 May 11:49

    bonkers

    • Lady London says:

      23 May23 May 11:52

      Does the government think we’re stupid, or… is the government that stupid.

      Even Greece (that really needs visitors) has thought better of having us now.

• Chris says:

  23 May23 May 08:27

  So a 2 week holiday becomes 4 weeks as I assume employers will not give special leave or sick leave.

  • MT says:

    23 May23 May 09:40

    No, just fly back via Dublin and you will be fine, adds maybe 3 hours onto the trip lol

    • Lady London says:

      23 May23 May 11:57

      doesnt DUB have their own quarantine though? gotta feeling you’d have to have split tickets or >24hrs there otherwise your original departure point would show on the systems as where you came from not DUB

• Yuff says:

  23 May23 May 08:31

  Why not screen everyone with LamPORE’s new device, portable or desktop.
  Results in an hour, each device can do 30k tests a day

• Scott says:

  23 May23 May 08:46

  What are they going to do when I arrive at Heathrow? Escort me under armed guard to an awaiting car to take me to where I’m going to be self-quarantining?
  If I was coming into the country, I would either get the tube to Kings Cross and the train from there, or drive.
  Suppose I could use an official car park shuttle bus, if they’re running, to get to a LHR car park and then drive 3.5hrs home?

  Or can I claim I’m going to pick fruit and get around things that way? Got a raspberry plant in my garden so could pick something off that.

  • ChrisBCN says:

    23 May23 May 09:18

    They may ask you how you plan to get to your place of quarantine at passport check (although if the e-gates are open, maybe they wouldn’t…) – but if at Heathrow I don’t see how they could follow everyone to the tube!

  • ChrisBCN says:

    23 May23 May 09:21

    I wonder if another person who lives in your household could employ you on minimum wage to pick fruit from your garden for an hour a day and give you a contract. Not exactly in the spirit of things of course, but does show the ridiculousness of the policy!

    • Scott says:

      23 May23 May 10:03

      I would try and put them on furlough just to see what happens 😉

      • ChrisBCN says:

        23 May23 May 11:57

        Haha furlough idea is brilliant!

  • Anna says:

    23 May23 May 10:51

    I think they haven’t thought very much of this through at all, which is why they keep kicking the can down the road about when they are going to release the full details.

• Andrew says:

  23 May23 May 09:36

  Surely there is a MASSIVE loophole in this in that:

  You go on a nice break to somewhere like Brazil where COVID is rife.

  You return and you promise the nice person from the Border Force that you will stay in your own home for 14 days.

  You don’t bother and return to work the next day.

  3 days later someone from “the private sector” turns up at your house when you are at work, knocks on the door but obviously gets no answer.

  They pass your details to the local Bobby (who I am sure will be thrilled with this additional workload) who then tries to issue you with a fine.

  You simply claim that you were in fact at home but “but as you were self isolating and out of an abundance of caution for your fellow humans” you didn’t answer the door so as not to put others at risk.

  Surely it is only possible to prove that you WERE at home not that you were not, so how can a fine legally be imposed?

  Obviously not in the spirit of the law, certainly not responsible and I am not advocating it, but surely this renders the whole thing totally unenforceable?

  Or am I missing something?

  • Anna says:

    23 May23 May 10:46

    You are correct, I pointed all this out in an earlier post. From years of trying to enforce things like curfews and residence conditions I know how difficult it is to get someone convicted at court where there is any hint of reasonable doubt about the circumstances.

    • Anna says:

      23 May23 May 10:50

      Though is you had gone back to work there would be a potential evidence trail of witness statements and (probably) CCTV, but I can’t see too many people doing that as it would obviously raise questions. Breaches of quarantine would be more likely, IMO, to involve unnecessary shopping trips and visits to (colluding) family and friends.

  • abc says:

    23 May23 May 18:51

    A rule doesn’t stop to make sense just because it’s difficult to impossible to enforce it. The rule will prevent at least 90% from people to go on holiday and most businesses to not allow international business travel whether it’s enforceable or not.

• Scott says:

  23 May23 May 10:10

  The only way they could enforce this is by locking up everyone who enters the country in Government controlled detention centres or similar for 2 weeks.
  We’ve all seen that quite a few people ignore rules, and/or interpret them as they see fit.
  I wouldn’t trust anyone entering the country to abide by the rules 100%.

  Nothing to stop me on the drive home after arriving, making a number of stops for shopping, to see family and friends etc. before eventually going home. Could potentially infect half the country!

  Suppose they could check with your workplace if you’ve turned up there during those 2 weeks?

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