Deaths Due To COVID-19 Exceeds 100 Thousand, UK Implements Hotel Quarantine

Terminal 5 Heathrow International Airport, UK. (Nick Fewings / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The death rate from COVID-19, which has reached 100,162 people in the UK, has made the local government tighten border controls. Moreover, positive cases of COVID-19 in that country have reached 3,689,746 cases as of Wednesday January 27.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement that travelers from red list countries would be closely monitored. Those who are not British will be denied for entry.

Meanwhile, citizens and resident permit holders will be picked up directly from the airport and transferred to the quarantine location at the hotel which has been prepared for 10 days.

"I want to make it clear that, under stay-at-home rules, it is illegal to leave the house to travel abroad for recreational purposes. We will enforce this at ports and airports, by asking people why they are leaving. If they have no valid reasons to travel, we will order them to return home," he told CNN.

"The Ministry of Health and Social Care is working to build this facility as quickly as possible," he added.

Previously, the British Government also imposed rules showing negative COVID-19 test results taken 72 hours before arrival, and making a statement that travel to the UK is important, as a condition of entry at the border.

It has not yet been announced the names of 22 countries which are on the British red list, but some are said to include South Africa, Portugal and Latin American countries.