All British and Irish citizens and UK residents who arrive in England from a ‘red list’ country must quarantine in a government-mandated hotel from today, February 15.
The list of 33 countries includes South Africa, Portugal and most South American countries.
Arrivals from those countries will have to pre-book their quarantine on the government website at a cost of £1,750 for 10 days of quarantine. The cost covers the hotel as well as transport and testing.
The government says it has struck deals with 16 hotels so far, providing 4,963 rooms for the new quarantine system, with a further 58,000 rooms currently on standby.
“The rules coming into force today will bolster the quarantine system and provide another layer of security against new variants at the border,” UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.
