Home Secretary Priti Patel has confirmed that there will be rigid enforcements put into place in order to make sure that those who have decided to visit amber-listed countries—such as Spain, Italy or France—respect the obligatory 10-day quarantine rule upon returning back home.
Discover our latest podcast
Strict measures put in place
Patel even went as far as to stress the fact that families should expect a 'knock on the door' when returning from abroad. It was reported that just last week, 30,000 home visits were made and that up to 10,000 check ups would be conducted every day to make sure safety measures are being respected. The Home Secretary said:
Significant resources have been put in place – millions of pounds – in terms of the follow-up checking of people around their testing and making sure they stay at home. It has been stepped up.
Amber-listed countries favoured by Brits
Anyone found to be out instead of at home self-isolating will be looking at a fine that could go up to £10,000 for breach of safety rules. The warning of harsh sanctions comes just as recent data has shown the Indian variant of the coronavirus to have spread out to more than 40% of all of England with infection rates having doubles over the last week.
As it stands currently, the only green-listed countries that allow a quarantine-free holiday are Portugal, Gibraltar, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Iceland and the Faroe Islands but statistics have revealed that Britons are more realistically likelier to visit amber-listed countries.
According to one analysis, 270,000 Brits are expected to fly to amber countries in the the coming weeks with around 1,300 flights having been scheduled, carrying 54,000 passengers a day to popular holiday destinations such as, Spain, Greece, France and Italy.