‘This is against my human rights’: Hotel quarantine ‘guest’ holds up card at window claiming she’s being kept in isolation despite NEGATIVE Covid test – while others at Heathrow give thumbs down review of stay
- Quarantine hotel guest holds up handwritten message at Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel near Heathrow
- Claims quarantine ‘is in contravention of my human rights when I have a home to go to for self-isolation’
- Other guests staying at four-star hotel are pictured giving a thumbs down as they lean out of windows
- People arriving in England must quarantine in a hotel for £1,750 if they have been to ‘red list’ country
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A quarantine hotel guest today complained the UK Government was breaching her human rights by forcing her to stay there when she could self-isolate in her home and has tested negative for coronavirus.
The woman held up a handwritten message on a piece of paper behind the window of her room at the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel near London Heathrow Airport this morning to complain about her treatment.
Her message shown to photographers said: ‘Government controlled hotel quarantine plan is in contravention of my human rights when I have a home to go to for self-isolation and have tested negative for Covid.’
Other guests staying at the four-star hotel were also pictured today giving a thumbs down as they leaned out of their window, with one of them wearing a football shirt of Argentinian team Boca Juniors.
It comes after new rules introduced last Monday mean people arriving in England must quarantine in a hotel for ten days at a cost of £1,750 if they have been to a country with a high Covid risk, such as Portugal or Brazil.
A quarantined traveller holds a sign up to the window of her room at the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel near Heathrow today
A man wearing a Boca Juniors football shirt gives a thumbs- down at the Radisson Blu Edwardian near Heathrow this morning
Two passengers stuck in the same room at the Radisson Blu Hotel near Heathrow show their displeasure at the scheme today
The Government has defended the scheme, insisting it is required to provide higher protection against the threat of Covid-19 variants by enabling health officials to better track any new cases which might be brought into Britain.
But data has not yet been revealed on how many people have tested positive for coronavirus since going into a quarantine hotel. Ministers are expected to publish an update on this information in the coming weeks.
Other hotel quarantine guests have protested in recent days with a series of homemade signs reading ‘HM Prison Heathrow’ and ‘What a way to spend your birthday’ and ‘Next time I’m coming home in a dinghy via Dover’.
More than 100 people a day are going into the quarantine hotels, MPs were told earlier this week. The first passengers arrived on Monday last week and they will be allowed to return home today.
Arrivals who lie about where they have been – and their possible exposure to new Covid variants – could be jailed for a maximum of ten years, and if they leave before the end of quarantine they could be fined up to £10,000.
Last week British father Anthony Pium, 30, from Leyton, East London, made a dramatic bid for freedom from the Radisson Blu after claiming he was being held ‘under duress’.
A guest at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel near London Heathrow Airport looks out from the window of her room today
The Radisson Blu Edwardian near London Heathrow Airport, pictured today, is among the hotels in the quarantine scheme
Two quarantined travellers in the same room make a thumbs down gesture out of the window in the Radisson Blu hotel today
He tried to get out for ‘some fresh air’ before being surrounded by security guards. Mr Pium, a father-of-one who works for a travel agency, said he flew to London from Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Wednesday night.
A YouGov poll found last week 90 per cent of Britons are in favour of the current hotel quarantine scheme, while 72 per cent thought the rules should apply to all arrivals, not just those from the 33 countries on the UK’s ‘red list’.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said last week: ‘We recognise the impacts restrictions have on many and are grateful for the public’s continued efforts in helping to tackle this global pandemic by following the rules to protect others and save lives.
‘The new managed quarantine scheme and enhanced testing regime are necessary to provide a further level of protection against the threat of COVID-19 variants, by enabling us to better track any new cases which might be brought into the country.
‘All hotels are providing daily health and welfare support, and staff will seek medical support if they have health concerns about individual guests.’
What are the new rules for passengers entering Britain?
Spain and the US could be added to the list of 33 ‘red list’ countries
- You cannot enter the UK if you’ve been in or through a country on the banned travel list (known as the ‘red list’) in the last 10 days, unless you’re British, Irish or you have the right to live in the UK
- You must either quarantine where you’re staying or in a managed quarantine hotel for 10 days
- What you need to do depends on where you travel in the 10 days before you arrive – if you travel in or through a country on the banned travel list within 10 days, you must stay managed quarantine hotel; if not, you can quarantine at home
- You need to provide your journey and contact details in the 48 hours before you arrive in the UK. You must do this by completing the online passenger locator form
- You’ll need to show proof that you’ve completed the form when you arrive at the UK border as well as proof of a negative PCR or antigen test taken three days before departure
- You could be fined £500 when you arrive at the border if you cannot provide proof that you have had a negative coronavirus test
- You do not need a test if you’re travelling within the UK, the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey; from Ireland; from Ascension, Falkland Islands or St Helena; and children under 11 do not need a test
- After arriving at a quarantine hotel you will be tested on days two and eight of your stay using a PCR test self-administered in your room
- In Scotland, arrivals from all international destinations have to quarantine, even if they are not on the red list.