Covid news live: Lockdown review begins for England

UK Covid-19 vaccinations: Latest figures

Ministers are set to begin reviewing England’s current lockdown, as a hotel quarantine rules for travellers from “red list” countries comes into force.

Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, will start considering this week how restrictions in England may be eased ahead of a statement on 22 February setting out his “roadmap” out of lockdown.

From today, UK nationals or residents returning from any country on the government’s travel ban list will be required to stay in a quarantine hotel for 10 nights.

These new measures apply to anyone who has been in or through a “red list” country in the past 10 days.

Key Points

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Government ‘very much’ hopes lockdown will be last – Hancock

Asked on BBC Breakfast whether the government wanted the current lockdown to be the last, Matt Hancock said: “Absolutely, we very much hope so.”

The health secretary said: “Having a sustainable exit, so lifting the measures in such a way that can be sustainable and we don’t have to have another lockdown, that is obviously an important part of our considerations.

“For me, making sure that as we lift measures, we do so carefully and cautiously to make sure that we don’t have to put them on again, that is at the core of the judgment we have to make.”

Zoe Tidman15 February 2021 08:50

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‘One night is quite enough on Isolation Row’

“A symphony of beige and brown: exactly what you want for a brief overnight stay at an airport hotel,” Simon Calder writes.

“The Heathrow airport Novotel delivers. But for a 11-night stretch in quarantine, I sense the narrow and sombre spectrum may grate just as much as the regular ‘plink, plonk’ signalling the arrival of the lift opposite.”

Our travel correspondent spent the night at the Novotel before switched to its role as a quarantine hotel.

“One night is quite enough on Isolation Row,” he writes.

Zoe Tidman15 February 2021 08:37

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How will hotel quarantine work?

Governments in the UK and Scotland have set out different policies for hotel quarantine for arrivals from abroad.

Simon Calder takes a look at how it will work:

Zoe Tidman15 February 2021 08:23

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Hotel quarantine begins

From today, travellers arriving from 33 “red list” countries to England will be required to quarantine for 11 nights in a hotel close to one of four airports – Heathrow, Gatwick, London City or Birmingham – or the business jet hub of Farnborough in Hampshire.

All international arrivals to Scotland must quarantine at hotels near Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports.

At the same time, the testing regime for anyone arriving in the UK has been stepped up. All travellers must provide evidence of a negative test in the 72 hours before departure to Britain, then book tests on days two and eight.

Simon Calder, our travel correspondent, has more:

Zoe Tidman15 February 2021 08:08

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Review into England’s lockdown to start

Lockdown measures in England will start being reviewed.

The prime minister will this week begin considering how restrictions in England may be eased before setting out his “roadmap” out of lockdown on 22 February.

He is already under pressure from some Tory MPs to push ahead amid frustration at the damage that is being done to the economy and the impact on people’s lives.

In the meantime, Tom Batchelor has taken a look at when lockdown may end:

Additional reporting by PA

Zoe Tidman15 February 2021 07:48