Boris Johnson is under pressure to ban foreigners from entering Britain (Photo: AFP).
Ministers are trying to force Boris Johnson to completely close Britain’s borders to foreigners to prevent Covid’s new capabilities being extended to the UK, the report said.
According to the Telegraph, a number of ministers are investigating the matter.
Transport Minister Grant Shaps announced Thursday that Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo would be denied entry to the country from Friday in an effort to stem the spread of the Covida 19 strain from South Africa.
These are the latest countries to be added to the no entry list after flights to South America, Portugal and South Africa were suspended to prevent further entry.
But some ministers would push for a ban for all UK travellers in light of rising infection rates.
The idea had earlier been rejected by the prime minister, but a few days later the issue was back on the agenda of the ministerial committee on Covid operations.
Whitehall insiders told The Telegraph that part of the government is pushing for a total travel ban after new figures showed the number of infected people rose in the second week of January despite curfew measures.
Radical measures that would be considered by a Covid-O cabinet committee include requiring people arriving in the UK to wear a GPS tag to ensure they do not leave their quarantine room, and requiring all arrivals to pay for their stay in hotels they cannot leave for ten days.
Home Secretary Priti Patel, Health Secretary Matt Hancock and Cabinet Secretary Michael Gove are expected to support tighter restrictions, similar to those in Australia and New Zealand.
Several companies are fighting for the possibility of introducing stricter border measures (Photo: AFP)
A source in Whitehall told the Daily Mail that Hancock was paranoid about the threat from abroad, adding that we are rolling out the vaccine much faster now than in many other places. This is the key to unlocking it in the UK.
But the Treasury, the Department for Transport (DfT) and the Department for International Trade (DIT) are said to be concerned about the damage new restrictions could do to the already struggling aviation and tourism sector and the wider economy.
The decision comes after EU leaders met Thursday to discuss whether member states can ban non-resident travelers from countries affected by mutated virus strains, as well as the need for negative pre-departure testing and quarantine.
Portugal has already announced a no-fly zone from Britain to combat the spread of a mutated coronavirus strain that first appeared in southern England.
Prime Minister Antonio Costa said all flights to and from Britain would be suspended from Saturday to reduce the risk of infection as the British variant spreads in the Mediterranean country.
To stop the spread of the COVID-19 variant identified in South Africa, we are banning all entry into Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo from 4am onwards.
– Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) January 21, 2021
Last week, the UK banned flights to and from Portugal because of its close ties with Brazil, where a worrying new option has emerged. All of South America, the African island of Cape Verde and the Central American country of Panama are also included in the measure.
Meanwhile, the government ended its policy on the travel corridor on Monday, under pressure to tighten border controls to stop the spread of mutant strains.
This means that travellers from all countries must provide proof of a negative Covid 19 test within 72 hours of leaving for the UK.
Aliens entering from abroad must be quarantined for 10 days, with the possibility of additional testing on the fifth day to shorten the isolation period.
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