Covid: Ministers risking lives over quarantine plan 'delay', says Labour

The government is "risking lives" by being too slow to implement a hotel quarantine plan, Labour has claimed.

Boris Johnson confirmed in January UK residents returning from Covid hotspots would have to quarantine in hotels, but a timetable has not yet been set.

Labour has written to Home Secretary Priti Patel to urge her to end the delays and get on with it.

But ministers insist there is not a delay and they are working on the scheme "at pace".

The prime minister had said there would be an announcement on hotel quarantine on Thursday but Downing Street later said he was "misinformed".

Priti Patel told MPs to expect a statement this week but a Downing Street spokesman said it will not now come until next week.

• Which UK arrivals have to quarantine in a hotel?

• Tougher quarantine rules for travellers arriving in Scotland

• Airports 'have no idea' how quarantine will work

It comes as a further 915 people died within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test in the UK, according to the government's daily figures.

This brings the total number of people to die within 28 days of a positive Covid test to 110,250.

'Race against time'

Labour's shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds accused the government of having "lurched from one crisis to another" in the absence of a "clear strategy" on Covid border security.

"The UK is in a race against time to secure our borders against emerging strains of the virus, yet not only are there no hotel quarantine arrangements in place, the plans for how they will work have not even been announced," he said in a letter to Priti Patel.

He raised concerns that discussions with major hotel chains had not begun and that the police did not have the extra capacity to take on extra enforcement work.

He claimed a lack of competence was "putting lives at risk and could potentially undermine the vital progress being made by vaccine".

A Conservative spokesperson said Labour had "spent the entire pandemic flip flopping on border control".

They said the government had taken "firm action" including requiring everyone arriving in the UK to isolate.

Labour has called on the government to extend hotel quarantining to those returning to the UK from all countries, not just the areas on the "red list".

But the Conservatives described the plan as "implausible" arguing it would mean putting around 20,000 people in hotels every day.

The government has yet to publish data for the number of people entering the country in December and January.

But on 21 January, Paul Lincoln, the director-general of UK Border Force, told MPs that on Monday 18 January, "we had about 21,000 people coming into the country."

• Why hasn't the UK closed its borders?

'Red list'

Following the emergence of new coronavirus variants from other countries, there has been growing pressure on the government to toughen border restrictions.

In January, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps announced that all international passengers would have to test negative for Covid-19 before travelling to the UK.

And at the end of January, Mr Johnson said UK nationals and residents returning to the country from 30 "red list" Covid hotspots would have to quarantine in hotels for ten days.

However, as of Thursday hotel industry leaders said they are "yet to hear details" of the government's plans.

Rob Paterson, head of the Best Western hotel chain in the UK, told the BBC that beyond "very broad information" about timings, hoteliers had not had "any discussions at all" with government.

Chief Executive of industry body UK Hospitality, Kate Nicholls, said hotels were "ready to provide assistance" but "we are yet to hear any details on the scheme."

The Immigration Services Union - which represents workers for the UK Border Force - also claimed "nothing has been communicated" to them or staff.

Some workers, such as pilots and seasonal agricultural workers are exempt from quarantine and Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own quarantine rules, which differ slightly from England's.

Or use this form to get in touch: