LONDON (AP) – Britain’s newly opened quarantine hotels welcomed their first guests on Monday, while the government tries to prevent new variants of the coronavirus from hampering its rapid vaccination campaign.
Passengers who arrived at London’s Heathrow airport on Monday morning were escorted by security guards to the buses that took them to nearby hotels.
Britain has given a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine to almost a quarter of the population, but health officials are concerned that vaccines may not work as well on some new strains of the virus, including one identified for the first time in Africa southern.
A bus takes passengers to the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel, near London Heathrow Airport, on Monday, February 15, 2021, where they will remain for a 10-day quarantine period after returning to England from one of the 33 “red list” countries. The new regulations in force require anyone who is in a “high risk” location to enter England through a designated port and pre-book a package to stay in one of the government-managed quarantine facilities. (Steve Parsons / PA via AP)
Under the new rules, people arriving in England from 33 high-risk countries must stay in designated hotels for 10 days at their own expense, with meals delivered to their door. In Scotland, the rule applies to arrivals from any country. International travel has already been drastically suppressed by the pandemic, and the British are currently prohibited from taking holidays abroad.
Critics say quarantined hotels are being set up too late, with the South African variant already circulating in the UK
On Sunday, the government reached its goal of giving the first of two doses of the vaccine to 15 million of Britain’s most vulnerable people, including health professionals and people over 70.
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Visiting a vaccination center in London on Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised the “unbelievable effort” by scientists, doctors, pharmacists, military and volunteers who achieved the fastest vaccine distribution in Europe.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the vaccination campaign is now being extended to people over 65 and those with underlying health problems. The government plans to give everyone over 50 a first injection of vaccine by the end of April, and the entire adult population by September.
Britain had the worst coronavirus outbreak in Europe, with more than 117,000 deaths. Infections and deaths are steadily falling, and the government says on February 22 it will announce a “roadmap” to ease the national blockade.
A bus takes passengers to the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel, near London Heathrow Airport, on Monday, February 15, 2021, where they will remain for a 10-day quarantine period after returning to England from one of the 33 “red list” countries. The new regulations in force require anyone who is in a “high risk” location to enter England through a designated port and pre-book a package to stay in one of the government-managed quarantine facilities. (Steve Parsons / PA via AP)
Johnson is under pressure from some members of his Conservative Party in the government to lift the blockade soon, allowing businesses to reopen and people to visit friends and family.
The prime minister, who was accused of being too slow to arrest Britain last spring, and too fast to ease restrictions in the summer, now takes a more measured tone.
“We have to be very cautious,” he said, adding that the steps announced next week would be “cautious, but irreversible”.
Epidemiologist Neil Ferguson, who advises the government on respiratory viruses, said officials were right to be cautious.
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“What we don’t want to repeat is what happened on previous occasions – that is, to relax very fast,” he told Good Morning Britain.