LONDON (AP) – Newly established quarantine hotels in the UK received their first guests on Monday as the government tries to prevent new variants of the coronavirus from derailing a fast-moving vaccination action that has delivered more than 15 million photos in ten weeks.
Passengers arriving at London Heathrow Airport were escorted by security agents to buses that took them to nearby hotels.
Some of the passengers said they tried and failed to reach the UK before Monday to avoid quarantine.
Zari Tadayon, who flew to Heathrow in Dubai and was taken to the Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel near the airport, said she hoped she would be allowed to quarantine at her home in London. She said she felt “horrible” about being forced to stay at the hotel for 10 days.
I don’t know how I’ll cope. It will be difficult, “she said.
The UK has given a first dose of coronavirus vaccine to almost a quarter of its population, but health officials are concerned that vaccines may not work as well on some new strains of the virus, including one first identified. given in South Africa.
Under the new rules, residents of the UK and Ireland who arrive 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 abruptly hampered by the pandemic, and the British are now banned from going on holiday abroad.
Critics say, however, that quarantined hotels in the UK are set up too late, with the South African version already circulating in the UK.
Nick Thomas-Symonds, a spokesman for borders and immigration for the main opposition Labor Party, said reports from passengers in “red zone” countries mingling with others on planes and at the airport showed that the government’s quarantine policy was ” half cooked ”.
On Sunday, the Conservative government achieved its goal of administering the first of two vaccine doses to 15 million of Britain’s most vulnerable people, including health workers and those over the age of 70.
Visiting a vaccination center in London on Monday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised the “incredible effort” of the scientists, doctors, pharmacists, military members and volunteers who made the fastest vaccine launches in Europe.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the vaccination action now extends to people over the age of 65 and those with underlying health conditions. The government aims to provide all those over the age of 50 with the first shot vaccine by the end of April and to vaccinate the entire adult population by September.
Simon Stevens, executive director of England’s National Health Service, warned that the national vaccination campaign consisted of “two sprints and a marathon, (and) we have just reached the end of the first sprint”. He said that months of inoculation and possibly booster shots against the new variants are ahead.
The UK has had the worst outbreak of coronavirus in Europe, with over 117,000 deaths, although infections and deaths are steadily declining after more than a month of national blockade. On Monday, the UK registered 9,765 new cases, the first time the figure has been below 10,000 since October 2. 230 new deaths were recorded, almost a third less than a week ago.
The government says it will announce a “roadmap” to ease the blockade on February 22.
Johnson is under pressure from members of his Conservative ruling party to lift the blockade soon, allowing companies to reopen and people to visit friends and family.
The prime minister, who was accused of being too slow to block Britain last spring and then too quick to ease restrictions over the summer, now sets a more measured tone.
“Although the vaccination program is going well, we still don’t have enough data on the exact effectiveness of vaccines in reducing the spread of the infection,” Johnson told a news conference.
“We both need to be optimistic and patient,” he said. “Because we want this blockade to be the last.”
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Pan Pylas of London contributed to this story.
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