UK hotel quarantine guests allowed outside to smoke despite risk of Covid outbreak

Travellers say they are unhappy with Britain’s ‘utterly incompetent’ approach

A woman accompanied by a boy and girl stand and gesture out of a window from inside the Radisson Blu hotel at Heathrow Airport in west London where they are undertaking mandatory hotel quarantine because of the coronavirus pandemic. AFP

A couple gesture to the media from their room at the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel, near Heathrow Airport. Getty Images

A woman quarantined at the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel, near Heathrow Airport, London, holds up a sign in protest. AP Photo

The Holiday Inn, near Heathrow Airport, where some travellers are being placed in quarantine. Reuters

A passenger with a child leaves arrives at the Holiday Inn, near Heathrow Airport. Reuters

A woman holds up a sign at the window at the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel, where she is quarantined. AP Photo

A person holds a sign from a window of the Radisson Blu Hotel. Reuters

Mohammed Mostafa and Mohamed Noor take their daily exercise, accompanied by a security guard, outside the Holiday Inn, near Heathrow Airport. Reuters

Passengers arriving in the UK from a 'red list' country are escorted through Heathrow Airport on to a coach for transfer to a quarantine hotel. Getty Images

A woman who has recently arrived from Chile, looks through the window of the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel where she is quarantined. AP Photo

A woman waves through the window of the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel. AP Photo

A person holds a sign from a window of the Radisson Blu Hotel. Reuters

A traveller holds up a 'help' sign at a window during mandatory hotel quarantine in a Radisson Blu hotel. AFP

A property developer who flew back to the UK from Dubai said guests in hotel quarantine were allowed to leave their rooms for a cigarette.

Wayne Kelly was transferred to the Holiday Inn near London Heathrow Airport after arriving on the first day of Britain’s hotel quarantine scheme on Monday.

He said guests at his hotel were allowed “regular cigarette breaks” while being escorted by security guards.

Australian epidemiologist Prof Michael Toole warned the UK government that it was taking a chance allowing travellers to leave their rooms.
Prof Toole, from the Burnet Institute in Melbourne, said that coronavirus outbreaks in the city were caused by guests opening their door for food and the "fog of virus went out into the corridor, travelled down and infected hotel staff".

Mr Kelly told The Telegraph newspaper about the situation at his quarantine hotel.

"When you get to the ground floor, there are guys in yellow flak jackets sitting and standing around. They are nice guys but some of them haven't got their face masks on properly. It is ironic, really, because I suppose the whole point of me being inside here is to protect everyone else," he said.

Aviation experts said many travellers arriving in Britain may also be lying about their original country of departure despite the risk of hefty fines.

Meanwhile, travellers who stop over in Dubai on the way to England complained about the transfer to hotel quarantine despite having spent only a few hours in the UAE.

All UK citizens and permanent residents entering England from 33 red-list countries – which include the UAE, southern Africa and all of South America – are required to book a hotel room for 10 days at a cost of £1,750 ($2,427) for one adult.

Mohammed Mostafa was flying back to London after visiting family in Bangladesh when he changed planes in Dubai.

Mr Mostafa, 42, said he felt “quite intimidated” by UK authorities after arriving in Britain.

“It’s such a big mess,” he said. “I came from a country that’s not on the red list, so why should I be in this situation? I don’t get that.”

He described his hotel room as cold, claustrophobic and “simply like a prison”.

“I do completely agree with the idea as a theory but the way it has been implemented is utterly incompetent,” he said. “They said you’re not allowed to go out, you’re not allowed to do anything.”

He said he was permitted to take some walks, however, because of his diabetes and high blood pressure.

Mr Mostafa said it would have been cheaper for him to return to Bangladesh and rebook, but he was not offered that option.

On Monday, police fined four people arriving in England £10,000 ($13,868) each for failing to declare they had been to a red-list country in the past 10 days. They arrived at Birmingham and were not allowed to leave the airport.