UK minister defends delay over Covid quarantine hotels
by Damien Gayle from on (#5DSJE)
Rush to book hotel rooms near airports as Labour accuses government of putting lives at risk
The Foreign Office minister James Cleverly has defended the UK government's delay in implementing quarantine hotels, as reports claimed ministers were racing to reserve thousands of hotel rooms near airports in time for the beginning of the scheme on 15 February.
Ministers expect almost 1,500 UK residents a day to return from 33 red list" countries, which include most of South America, southern Africa, UAE and Portugal, where new variants of coronavirus are circulating. Non-UK travellers from these areas are barred from entry to the UK, meaning the quarantine plan will apply only to UK passport holders.
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