By Ben Kerrigan-
The home secretary has been asked to publish the scientific advice behind the decision to enforce a 14-day quarantine period on all arrivals into the UK months after the pandemic began.
Ms Patel today confirmed plans for the imposition of quarantine measures on all those who enter the UK from June 8.
A breach of self-isolation could result in a £1,000 fixed penalty notice in England or potential prosecution.
The plans have been greatly objected to by the travel and tourism sector who fear it would be a disaster to the travel industry and on the UK economy.
Critics say the absence of such an enforced quarantine for any arrivals in late February and early March when the virus was fresh and at its worst, questions the validity of implementing such rules now, when lock down is being eased.
Patel insists the move is necessary to ensure the British public are not exposed to further danger from passengers coming from other countries.
The shadow home secretary, Nick Thomas-Symonds, called for the government to be clear on the scientific advice. He asked in the Commons: “If these measures are necessary from 8 June, why have they not been necessary in recent weeks or from when they were first announced by the home secretary herself on 22 May?
“And can the home secretary give me her assurance these measures from Monday next week have been recommended and approved by Sage [Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies]?”
He added: “There has to be reassurance the quarantine has a genuine public health benefit now that according to the government it did not have in past months. And that these measures are not just a three-week fudge to try to spare the government embarrassment for failing to grip this issue at the right time.”
Joanna Cherry, the Scottish National party’s (SNP) home affairs spokesperson, said: “There has been widespread concern that the UK has been out of step with most other countries who introduced public health measures at their borders far earlier in the pandemic.
“The best way for her to address the failure to introduce any measures to date and also the effectiveness of the measures she now proposes, is to publish the evidence and the advice upon which she has relied.”
The Conservative former international trade secretary Liam Fox said: “I’m afraid I simply cannot get my head around the public health mental gymnastics of this policy. If such a barrier was required, why was it not introduced earlier in the outbreak?
And if it is a contingency measure against a second wave, why apply it to countries with a lower infection rate than we already have. Surely the answer lies in the government’s test-and-trace system, rather than unnecessary economic isolation.”
The question why a quarantine measure for passengers coming from abroad was not in place earlier in the pandemic is related to the same reason the lockdown in the UK happened late. The thinking at the time was herd immunity.
Self-isolating arrivals are permitted to leave the house to buy food and medicine for themselves or others in the household, including pets, where it is not possible to obtain the provisions in any other manner, as well as to attend funerals, court hearings and to access critical public services, such as social services.