People arriving in the UK from abroad will be required to self-isolate for 14 days from 8 June or risk a £1,000 fine, the government has announced today.
Speaking at the daily briefing this afternoon, Home Secretary Priti Patel said the new measures will help 'limit the spread of the virus at home', and is the government's way of taking steps against 'imported cases', which 'could begin to pose a larger, and increased threat'.
While some people will be exempt, such as medical professionals and foreign officials, the majority of arrivals will be asked to provide contact details, along with other information including where they will be staying.
Those who don't comply will be fined £1,000 - potentially along with prosecution - with spot checks being made by the Border Force.
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"Those from overseas who refuse to comply could be refused entry," Patel warned.
"Public Health England will set up an assurance service to contact people at random to ensure that they understand the requirements, and to also ensure that they are self-isolating.
"And our outstanding police will continue to do as they've done diligently across the country: to engage, explain and to encourage people to follow the rules.
"We will empower them to use enforcement as the last resort.
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"So anyone breaking their 14-day quarantine could face a penalty of £1,000, and that will be a fixed penalty notice. And ultimately, that could also go into potential prosecution and an unlimited fine for failure to comply with these sanctions."
Saying that the government is 'unafraid' to increase the penalties if that is necessary, Patel added: "We will review these temporary public health measures every three weeks to make sure they remain the right ones for our roadmap to recovery."
The planned measures have been met with a mixed reaction from airlines and trade bodies, with Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary saying earlier this week that the plan is 'idiotic' and 'unimplementable'.
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In a statement to Sky News, Virgin Atlantic also said: "The safety and security of our people and our customers is always our top priority and public health must come first.
"However, by introducing a mandatory 14 day self-isolation for every single traveller entering the UK, the Government's approach will prevent flights from resuming.
"We are continually reviewing our flying programme and with these restrictions, there simply won't be sufficient demand to resume passenger services before August at the earliest.
"We know that as the COVID-19 crisis subsides, air travel will be a vital enabler of the UK's economic recovery.
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"Therefore, we are calling for a multi-layered approach of carefully targeted public health and screening measures, which will allow for a successful and safe restart of international air travel for passengers and businesses."
Featured Image Credit: PA