A British couple are taking the UK government to task in court, following the sudden reintroduction of hotel quarantine after South Africa was added to the UK’s Red List while they were there on holiday.
A legal challenge that argues coronavirus hotel quarantine is a ‘fundamental breach of human rights’ has been mounted this week.
Now, anyone entering the UK from 10 countries in southern Africa must currently spend 10 full days in a quarantine hotel, at a cost of £2,285 for solo travellers.
The couple say they were left stranded when the country was added to the UK’s Red List after being told hotel quarantine was full AFTER they had booked their flights home.
They were told they would have to reschedule their flights and PCR tests and are now facing a £4,000 credit card bill on their return.
The couple have set up an online petition, which has attracted more than 40,000 signatures, calling on the Government to fund hotel quarantine costs for travellers caught in the same situation when new measures are imposed at short notice.
The couple said: “This ridiculous and unjustifiable policy was re-introduced with no prior warning, no ability for us to get home, and then to add insult to injury we were unable to get a room.
“The Government’s handling of this has been shambolic and that’s evident from the number of people who have signed our petition and call on the Prime Minister to rethink.
“It is utterly unfair and unreasonable that we should have to pay for mandatory hotel quarantine, which was not the Government policy when we left the UK.”
They are backing a case brought by law firm PGMBM who on Thursday will seek permission at the High Court for a judicial review of the Government’s mandatory hotel quarantine policy.
