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(Recasts with interior minister's announcement)
LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) - Britain will introduce a COVID-19
quarantine for for travellers arriving from overseas from June
8, interior minister Priti Patel said on Friday, a measure that
airlines have warned will devastate their industry.
All international arrivals, including returning Britons,
will be required to self-isolate for 14 days and provide details
of where they will be staying to the authorities.
"Now we are past the peak of this virus, we must take steps
to guard against imported cases triggering a resurgence of this
deadly disease," Patel said at a news conference.
She said those who breached the quarantine in England could
be fined 1,000 pounds ($1,218), and that spot checks would be
carried out by health and border officials.
The quarantine measures will not apply to those arriving
from the Irish Republic, and there are also exemptions for
freight drivers, medical professionals and seasonal agricultural
workers.
Unlike many other countries across the world, Britain has
carried out few tests and checks on visitors, with quarantine
limited only to arrivals from China at the start of the
outbreak.
That has led to accusations that Prime Minister Boris
Johnson's government has been too slow to act, but it now also
faces criticism over plans to bring in the quarantine.
Airline bosses have said the measures would have severe
repercussions, with Michael O'Leary, Ryanair's chief executive,
saying they would be "unenforceable and unpoliceable" and would
be ignored.
"Introducing a quarantine at this stage makes no sense and
will mean very limited international aviation at best," said Tim
Alderslade, Chief Executive of industry body Airlines UK.
"It is just about the worst thing government could do if
their aim is to restart the economy."
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge, Kate Holton, Alistair Smout,
Estelle Shirbon and Kylie MacLellan; editing by Michael Holden
and Stephen Addison)
