On 13 August 2020 the UK Government announced that anyone entering the UK from France after 4am on 15 August 2020 will be required to self-isolate for a period of 14 days as a precaution against the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19).
In July 2020, the UK Government set up travel corridors with a number of countries and territories where the Coronavirus infection rate was considered relatively low. This means anyone entering from one of these nominated countries is not expected to adhere to the 14-day self-isolation policy. Countries such as Spain and Luxembourg, which have seen an increase in Coronavirus infection rates, were removed from the list. Now France along with the Netherlands, Aruba, Malta, Monaco, and the Turks and Caicos Islands have all been removed from this list.
If you have visited any of the countries not on the exemption list found here, you will need to self-isolate for 14 days upon entering the UK. The 14 days begins when you leave the country not on the list, so any days subsequently spent in a country on the exemption list before entering the UK can be deducted from the 14-day self-isolation period.
The Government’s guidance also provides for a situation where a person travels through a non-exempt country on their way to the UK in a private vehicle. In this scenario, the guidance states that you will not need to self-isolate on entry to the UK if you travel through a non-exempt country in a private vehicle and do not stop, or if you do stop, no new people get into the vehicle or nobody in the vehicle gets out, mixes with other people, and gets back in again.
Where you do stop in a non-exempt country and either new people get into the vehicle or somebody in the vehicle gets out, mixes with others and gets back in again, you will have to observe the self-isolation requirements. It is unclear, however, how this policy is to be monitored or enforced.
Gherson continues to monitor any updates closely. The information published in this blog is accurate at the time of posting and may change. Please continue to visit our website for further updates.
The information in this blog is for general information purposes only and does not purport to be comprehensive or to provide legal advice. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the information and law is current as of the date of publication it should be stressed that, due to the passage of time, this does not necessarily reflect the present legal position. Gherson accepts no responsibility for loss which may arise from accessing or reliance on information contained in this blog. For formal advice on the current law please don’t hesitate to contact Gherson. Legal advice is only provided pursuant to a written agreement, identified as such, and signed by the client and by or on behalf of Gherson.
©Gherson 2020