LONDON: Britain plans to introduce a 14-day mandatory quarantine for most international arrivals, reports said Saturday, despite growing pressure on the government to relax virus lockdown measures.
It comes as the UK, which has the world’s second highest coronavirus death toll after the US, cautiously charts a way forward after imposing strict stay-at-home orders in late March.
Apart from those entering the country from neighboring Ireland, all people coming into Britain by air, sea and rail will be required to self-isolate for a fortnight, The Times reported.
The newspaper said the new rule would be enforced by spot-checks on the address given by travelers, with possible penalties including fines of up to $1,200 or deportation.
It said Prime Minister Boris Johnson would announce the measures on Sunday.
The BBC reported that the two-week quarantine restriction was set to be brought in at the end of May, citing government sources and aviation industry body Airlines UK.
Ahead of Johnson’s televised address later this weekend, the government has warned not to expect any major changes to the nationwide coronavirus lockdown.
The devolved government in Wales has unveiled plans to re-open garden centers and libraries, but said the wider lockdown would remain for another three weeks.
More than 31,000 people who have tested positive for coronavirus have now died in Britain.
Britain to introduce two-week quarantine for arrivals: reports
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Britain to introduce two-week quarantine for arrivals: reports
- The UK has the world’s second highest coronavirus death toll after the US
- More than 31,000 people who have tested positive for coronavirus have now died in Britain
China says Philippines distorted facts about incident near disputed atoll
- The Chinese ministry defended its coast guard’s actions as “reasonable, lawful, professional and restrained”
BEIJING: China’s defense ministry accused the Philippines on Wednesday of distorting the facts about an incident involving the Chinese coast guard and Filipino fishermen near a South China Sea shoal, a charge Manila strongly rejected.
The Philippine coast guard said over the weekend that three Filipino fishermen were injured and two fishing vessels damaged when Chinese coast guard ships cut their anchor lines and fired water cannon near the Sabina Shoal on Friday, actions the Philippine defense secretary denounced as “dangerous” and “inhumane.”
The Chinese ministry defended its coast guard’s actions as “reasonable, lawful, professional and restrained,” and vowed to “take strong and effective measures” in response to “all acts of infringement and provocation,” according to a statement released on its social media account.
“The Philippine side amassed a large number of ships in an organized and premeditated manner to illegally intrude” into the atoll’s lagoon, the ministry said. “Philippine personnel even threatened Chinese coast guard on site with a knife,” it added.
Philippine defense ministry spokesperson Arsenio Andolong maintained that Manila has evidence to counter China’s assertions.
“The facts are not distorted. They are documented, timestamped, and corroborated by video recordings, vessel logs, and on-site reporting by the Philippine Coast Guard,” Andolong said in a statement.
“The Philippines is not hyping the issue, the facts speak for themselves. These are aggressive and excessive actions of an encroaching state,” he added.
Sabina Shoal, which China refers to as Xianbin Reef and the Philippines as the Escoda Shoal, lies in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone 150 km (95 miles) west of Palawan province.
China claims almost the entire South China Sea, a waterway supporting more than $3 trillion of annual commerce. The areas Beijing claims cut into the exclusive economic zones of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.
An international arbitral tribunal ruled in 2016 that Beijing’s sweeping claims had no basis under international law, a decision China rejects.
