A review of “chaotic” quarantine regulations deserves a “robust control regime,” given the “terrible warnings” of the travel industry, according to the party.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said airport tests would identify 7% of cases and could give a “false sense of security. “
And Foreign Minister Dominic Raab said the evidence was a quick fix.
“That’s why we’re forty-something,” Raab said on the BBC’s Andrew Marr programme.
“The concept that a singles register at an airport can solve Array quarantine disorders . . . we may not do it safely,” he said.
A government spokesman said an assessment of how the evidence could help is being conducted.
“Any possible replacement in arrival tests will be physically powerful in minimizing the threat of positive cases being lost,” he said.
The BBC has been informed that a cabinet resolution on whether to introduce evidence at airports has been postponed several times and may never happen.
In a letter to Interior Secretary Priti Patel, Labour argues that UK quarantine provisions “lose public confidence and undermine our ability to support others and save jobs. “
Shadow Interior Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that he was in favor of a “two-test system. “
“This is not just an airport check,” he said, adding that follow-up checks would determine the accuracy of the results.
“If the government had [a two-test system] operational, it would need a 14-day quarantine policy,” he said.
People entering the UK face 14 days of self-funding unless they come from exempt countries, a prestige that was decided through the separate government of each of the 4 countries.
In recent weeks, Britons on holiday in France, Spain and the Netherlands have gone through the elimination of exemptions at short notice.
Last week, Scotland and Wales called on arrivals from Portugal and parts of Greece to quarantine them, while England and Northern Ireland stood firm.
British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps admitted that this had created a “concern” for travellers.
In theory, testing at the airport is a wonderful concept and would quarantine.
But there are several problems.
Incubation of the coronavirus, the time a user is inflamed to the point where they have symptoms, can be up to 14 days.
At the beginning of the incubation period, the control may not be controlled by the virus.
So, you can’t just check into the airport and think someone is clear. They will still be quarantined and the concept discussed is that they would be reviewed after maybe seven or ten days.
This has minimal effect on quarantine and would put even more pressure on the regime.
A faster one, and one that has been proposed to the government, is to be a little smarter with quarantine rules.
It is a rather brutal tool: some countries are on the quarantine list with infection rates slightly higher than those in the UK, and national infection rates take regional differences into account.
One suggestion is to insist on quarantine when a traveler is in a domain with a higher infection rate, but of course it becomes even more complicated to apply.
In his letter to the Minister of the Interior, Mr. Thomas-Symonds requested a review to report on it within a fortnight.
“It comes with features for a physically powerful airport testing regime and related follow-up tests, which can help safely minimize the need for 40 14 days,” he wrote.
“Given the huge demanding situations facing the travel industry and the magnitude of task losses, it makes sense for this domain as a component of a broader set of innovations to the testing regime. “
He also said there were “serious concerns” about poor tracking of incoming travellers, which “controls less than a third of the passenger location bureaucracy. “
Airlines have criticized the use of quarantine measures at a time when closures around the world have helped reduce passenger demand.
On Friday, Virgin Atlantic announced plans to cut another 1,150 jobs after reaching a $1. 2 billion bailout deal, months after making 3,150 layoffs following the collapse of the call through the pandemic.
Airport chiefs criticized ministers.
On-site amenities had already been installed at London Heathrow Airport, chief executive John Holland-Kaye said last week.
“It is frustrating that the government has just taken the resolution to move forward, while governments in other European countries are starting to do so,” he added.
France and Germany use airport tests for passengers in countries with higher infection rates.
And on Friday, former Brexit Secretary David Davis said testing at UK airports, with effect on passengers within two hours, could limit quarantine to “less than five days. “
“If someone is sure of himself, they will quarantine him on the spot,” he said, arguing that the government could pay to place him in underused airport hotels.
However, the Prime Minister responded by referring to Public Health England’s style by suggesting that 7% of cases would be detected.
While he understood the “difficulties” facing the airline industry, Johnson said, “93% of the time, you have a false sense of genuine security, a false sense of confidence when you arrive and take an exam. “
“The quarantine formula we have will have to be a vital component of our repertoire, our toolbox, in combat opposite the Covid,” he added.