As of 15th February, everyone arriving in the UK from any of the 33 “red-list” countries is required to isolate in a government-specified hotel for ten days. Travellers have to pay £1,750 for the accommodation and will have all of their needs covered, including food and room service. This system of quarantine was implemented across the globe nearly ten months ago in other countries but was only proposed in Parliament on the 13th of February. What took the UK so long?
This delay is symptomatic of the disappointing state of the UK government throughout the entirety of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“New Zealand has had only 25 deaths caused by COVID-19. In the UK, deaths are now over 100,000”
On the other side of the world in New Zealand, their successful quarantine system clearly helped aid their now virtually COVID-free nation. The country recently went into an emergency three-day lockdown after a few cases broke out, which they are now out of. It’s a similar situation in Australia, where the country has now entered a five-day circuit-breaker lockdown.
The people of New Zealand are attending gigs, festivals and parties. They are enjoying what over there is a beautiful, and well-needed, summer. A similar system to that of New Zealand was suggested by various politicians in the UK back in 2020. This was never implemented. New Zealand has had only 25 deaths caused by COVID-19. In the UK, deaths are now over 100,000.
Population differences aside, the monumental disparity between these figures should be an embarrassment for the UK government. However, they have continued to allow movement in and out of the country without any form of forced isolation other than in your own home, which was hardly well monitored.
“Only 10 days before the scheme was passed through parliament, there were no confirmed contracts with specific hotels”
One of the many excuses the UK government gave for not putting this in place sooner was choosing which hotels could become government-sanctioned hotels. The UK now has 4,963 rooms at 16 hotels with an extra 50,000 rooms on standby.
For a hotel to be considered for the scheme, it needed to fulfil government requirements. Hotels needed the right amount of ventilation to ensure safety for all guests, as well as space for security. According to The Guardian, many hotel owners were tentative to allow the scheme to go ahead in their properties. Some said they did not want to be remembered as the “quarantine hotels”.
These issues with hotel businesses were extremely obvious to the government. They even had a model to follow, created by the rest of the world. However, ultimately the entire decision was made very quickly. Only 10 days before the scheme was passed through parliament, there were no confirmed contracts with specific hotels.
The public’s reaction so far has been varied. Some have complained on social media about feeling “trapped” inside the rooms.
Passengers who have been forced to spend £1,750 and 10 days quarantining in hotels after touching down in the UK have likened it to being in prison https://t.co/xlbKxmInVJ
— Sky News (@SkyNews) February 16, 2021
However, most feedback from the public included a wish that the system was in place sooner.
Today, it has been over a month since a new, highly infectious variant of Covid-19 arrived in the UK. This delay, on something that would have been vital in reducing case numbers, is symptomatic of the disappointing state of the UK government throughout the entirety of the Covid-19 pandemic.
We do not yet know the extents to which the system will be effectively monitored. In the summer of 2020, the government insisted they would track and ensure all people returning from certain countries had to isolate in their homes. However, most people in quarantine received no messages from the track and trace system. For those unwilling to comply with regulations, this was an invitation to treat it as voluntary.
All we can do is hope that this system reduces the catastrophic impact of Covid-19 in the UK. Unfortunately, due to the government’s inability to protect UK citizens so far, we have every reason to be wary.
Rebecca Hyde
Featured image courtesy of Ethan Wilkinson via Unsplash. Image licence found here. No changes were made to the image.