Coronavirus: Labor Demands Review Of Airport Tests To Reduce Quarantine

Options for testing for coronavirus at the airport should be explored to reduce the number of travelers who have to spend two weeks in quarantine, Labor said.

When revising “chaotic” quarantine rules, a “robust testing regime” should be considered given the “dire warnings” of the tourism industry, the party said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that airport tests only detect 7% of cases and could therefore give a “false sense of security.”

A government spokesman said that an assessment of how testing could help is ongoing.

“Any potential changes in testing arrivals must be robust to minimize the chances of missing positive cases,” he said.

The BBC reported that the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers to introduce tests at airports has been repeatedly postponed and now may never take place.

People entering the UK face 14 days of self-isolation if they do not arrive from tax-exempt countries, a status determined by individual authorities in each of the four countries.

In recent weeks, Britons vacationing in France, Spain and the Netherlands have been caught abolishing the exemptions at short notice.

Last week, Scotland and Wales announced quarantine for arrivals from Portugal and parts of Greece, while England and Northern Ireland abstained.

UK Transport Secretary Grant Shapps admitted that this has created a “confusing” situation for travelers.

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In a letter to Interior Minister Priti Patel, Labor argues that these measures “are losing public confidence and undermining our ability to keep people safe and keep jobs.”

Shadow Interior Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds is demanding a report within two weeks.

“It should include outlining options for a robust airport testing regime and associated follow-up tests that can help safely minimize the need for a 14-day quarantine,” he writes.

“Given the enormous challenges facing the tourism sector and the scale of job losses, it makes sense to see this area as part of a broader package of improvements in testing mode.”

He also said there was “serious concern” about poor monitoring of arriving travelers, claiming that “less than a third of passenger location profiles are checked.”

Airlines have criticized the use of quarantine measures at a time when global blockages have contributed to a drop in passenger demand.

Virgin Atlantic on Friday announced plans to cut another 1,150 jobs following the completion of a £ 1.2bn bailout deal, months after a 3,150 job cut due to a collapse in demand caused by the pandemic.

The airport authorities also criticized the ministers.

Testing laboratories have already been set up at London Heathrow Airport, CEO John Holland-Kay said last week.

“It is disappointing that the government has simply not made the decision to continue this work, while the governments of other European countries continue to do so,” he added.

France and Germany use airport testing for passengers arriving from countries with higher infection rates.

And on Friday, former Brexit secretary David Davis said testing at UK airports – in which passengers will receive results within two hours – could reduce the quarantine to “less than five days.”

“If anyone tests positive, they should be quarantined right here,” he said, arguing that the government could pay to place them in underused airport hotels.

However, the prime minister responded by pointing to England’s public health models, which would only detect 7% of cases.

Understanding the “challenges” facing the aviation industry, Mr. Johnson said, “93% of the time, you may have a false sense of security, a false sense of confidence, when you arrive and take your exam.”

“The quarantine system that we have should be an important part of our repertoire, our toolbox in the fight against Covid,” he added.

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