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* Hotel quarantine for high risk country arrivals
* COVID-19 tests required on day 2 and 8 of quarantine
* Rule breakers face fines, prison sentences of up to 10 yrs
* Airlines, airports issue latest cry for help
(Adds further comment, airline reaction)
By Sarah Young
LONDON, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Britain will require passengers
arriving from countries where worrying coronavirus variants are
spreading to pay for 10 days of quarantine in hotels, while
rule-breakers will face heavy fines or jail terms, under tighter
restrictions from next week.
The new travel rules add to restrictions that already ban
travel abroad for holidays. The government said the stronger
measures were needed to prevent new variants of the virus from
thwarting Britain's rapid vaccination programme.
Airlines and travel companies called for more government
aid, saying the new rules would deepen a crisis that has seen
them lose nearly all their revenue.
Health secretary Matt Hancock said people could be sent to
prison and fined up to 10,000 pounds ($14,000) if they break the
rules which come into force on Feb. 15.
"Anyone who lies on the passenger locator form and tries to
conceal that they've been in a country on the 'red list' in the
10 days before arrival here, will face a prison sentence of up
to 10 years," Hancock told parliament.
British and Irish nationals arriving in England who have
been in high risk countries in the last 10 days would be
required to pay 1,750 pounds ($2,400) to cover the cost of a
minimum 10-day quarantine in a designated hotel, Hancock said.
All arrivals into the UK will also have to take further
COVID-19 tests on day 2 and day 8 of their quarantines, he said,
on top of a pre-departure test already required.
Britain has rolled out the fastest vaccination programme of
any large country. But there has been alarm in recent days after
reports that the vaccines it is using may be less effective
against some new variants of the virus, such as one that has
spread rapidly in South Africa.
NO END IN SIGHT
The government, criticised in recent weeks for being slow to
bring in tougher border measures, said the stricter rules could
stay in place until it is sure vaccines work against new
variants, or booster shots become available.
"Strong protections at the border are part of defending and
safely allowing the domestic opening up," Hancock said.
British airlines and airports issued a new cry for help, the
latest of many, urging the government to provide more support to
make sure the sector makes it through the year, and to issue a
roadmap on how it will ease restrictions.
"Airports and airlines are battling to survive with almost
zero revenue and a huge cost base, and practically every week a
further blow lands," aviation trade bodies said.
Hancock said the measures could not be in place permanently
and would be replaced "over time with a system of safe and free
international travel".
The government said it had contracted 16 hotels for an
initial 4,600 rooms for hotel quarantine and would secure more
as needed, with further details due to be published on Thursday.
Quarantines in hotels have been used by Australia and New
Zealand as a strategy to sharply limit the spread of the
coronavirus.
($1 = 0.7259 pounds)
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge and Kate Holton, additional
reporting by Andrew MacAskill, Editing by Paul Sandle, Michael
Holden, Giles Elgood, Peter Graff)
