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| All passengers arriving at airports and ports will be required to provide an address at which they will immediately self-isolate for 14 days. |
The UK government could be set to announce a mandatory 14-day quarantine for all travellers into Britain as part of measures aimed at avoiding a second peak of the coronavirus pandemic, it has been reported.
The Times says that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will make the announcement in an address to the nation today.
Under the measures, which are expected to be implemented in June, all passengers arriving at airports and ports will be required to provide an address at which they will immediately self-isolate for 14 days.
The paper reports that โauthorities will conduct spot checksโ, with punishments for those not adhering to the rules including โfines of up to ยฃ1,000โ and deportation.
A Home Office spokeswoman told the PA news agency: โWe do not comment on leaks. The focus remains on staying at home to protect the NHS and save lives.โ
The aviation industry is calling on the Government to reveal specifics of the proposal amid concerns that the measures could have severe repercussions for the travel and tourism sectors.
โWe need to see the details of what they are proposingโ, Airlines UK, which represents British Airways, EasyJet and other UK-based airlines, said in a statement to the BBC.
Responding to earlier speculation that a mandatory quarantine would be part of the Governmentโs coronavirus measures, Airlines UK issued a statement saying the proposal โwould effectively kill international travel to and from UK and cause immeasurable damage to the aviation industry and wider UK economyโ.
It added: โNobody is going to go on holiday if theyโre not able to resume normal life for 14 days, and business travel would be severely restricted.
โIt will also make it all but impossible for aviation to resume any time soon, thereby setting back the UKโs economic recovery still further.โ
Press Association
