Covid: Sheffield woman forced to quarantine 100 miles away from family

The family delayed their return from South Africa by three days in the hope a family room would become available

A woman has been forced to quarantine in a hotel 100 miles away from the one her husband and son are staying in due to no bigger rooms being available.

Jennie Bianco was in South Africa for work and was later joined by her family, but the day after they arrived, the country was put on the red list.

As a result, they had to quarantine on their return, but a lack of rooms has seen Mrs Bianco staying near Gatwick, while her family are in Milton Keynes.

She said it was "quite distressing".

People returning from red list countries must pay for 10 days at an approved hotel.

The family had been due to return on 3 December but were told no family rooms would be available for several days.

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After delaying until 6 December, and spending £200 to change flights and £600 for extra accommodation, Mrs Bianco said they were still unable to get a large room.

As a result, the family has paid £2,285 for a single room at Gatwick and £2,610 for husband and son's room in Milton Keynes, rather than getting a discounted family room.

Mrs Bianco said the situation had been "quite distressing" for her son

She said she had at least hoped they could have been placed in the same hotel, so she could see her six-year-old son when they were allowed outside.

"We've obviously been together a lot during lockdown and we've not been on holiday for two years, so I thought 'I can do my work and we will have a nice holiday together as a family'," she said.

"For this to be the end of it is quite distressing for him," she said.

There have been several cases of UK residents trying to return from South Africa struggling to find quarantine hotel rooms on the day their flights arrive, more than a week after it went on the red list, while others who have managed to book have called the system "appalling".

Earlier, Health Secretary Sajid Javid told the House of Commons there had been "a spike in demand for these facilities, due to the rapid expansion of the red list".

"However, we are ramping up this capacity as quickly as possible," he added.

A government spokesperson said: "The majority of passengers who have used the managed quarantine service have been satisfied with the service and we aim to keep families together."