The government is booking up thousands of rooms across the country as it prepares to officially open quarantine hotels for visitors to the UK.
From February 15, all passengers who enter Britain from ‘red list countries’ must isolate for 10 days in government-approved accommodation.
According to The Telegraph, the government is reserving 28,000 rooms in hotels near major British airports including Manchester.
Accommodation bosses are being asked to prepare for the arrival of as many as 1,425 passengers per day.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson first confirmed that ministers were looking into creating quarantine hotels back in January.
The Labour party have accused the government of acting too slowly and “putting lives at risk”.
“It is beyond comprehension that these measures won’t even start until 15 February,” said shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds.
“We are in a race against time to protect our borders against new COVID strains. Yet hotel quarantine will come in to force more than 50 days after the South African strain was discovered.”
But Foreign Office Minister James Cleverly told Sky News that hotels “need time to prepare” – including training staff and getting rooms ready.
Manchester Airpot / Image: Wikimedia Commons
Initial reports suggest that the government will cover the initial bill for any quarantine hotel stays and then recoup the money from people at a later date.
Security guards will be assigned to every floor and will accompany guests if they go outside.
Hotels will provide three meals a day.
The quarantine measures are expected to cost more than £55 million and will remain in place until March 31.
The UK first closed its travel corridors on January 18 – requiring all visitors to self-isolate upon arrival, regardless of where they have come from.
All passengers are also required to take a negative COVID test result within 72 hours to be granted entry.
Travel for non-essential purposes is banned until further notice.
Which countries are on the travel ban list?
Atoms / Unsplash
‘Red list countries’ are nations which are deemed higher risk, either due to COVID-19 rates or the presence of potentially more infectious variants.
All non-UK residents from red list countries are currently banned from entering Britain.
However, any British travellers returning from these countries can re-enter – but will be required to self-isolate for 10 days in the government’s quarantine hotels.
The full red list countries (as of 05/02) is as follows:
Angola
Argentina
Bolivia
Botswana
Brazil
Burundi
Cape Verde
Chile
Colombia
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ecuador
Eswatini
French Guiana
Guyana
Lesotho
Malawi
Mauritius
Mozambique
Namibia
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Portugal (including Madeira and the Azores)
Rwanda
Seychelles
South Africa
Suriname
Tanzania
United Arab Emirates (UAE)
Uruguay
Venezuela
Zambia
Zimbabwe
The procedure for booking rooms in government accommodation is expected to be outlined next week.
Urgent appeal issued following serious road traffic collision involving motorcyclist on M60
Emily Sergeant
An urgent appeal has been issued following a serious road traffic collision on the M60.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) are appealing for information and dash-cam footage, as well as urging witnesses to come forward, after a motorcyclist suffered life-threatening injuries during a collision on the M60 this past Saturday (12 July).
Shortly after 1:40pm, police were called a report of a collision involving a motorbike on the anti-clockwise side of the motorway, between junctions 25 and 24.
When patrols responded and arrived on the scene, they found a man in his 50s – believed to be the motorcyclist – with life-threatening injuries, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment in an air ambulance, with his family being informed in the process.
An urgent appeal has been issued following a serious road traffic collision involving motorcyclist on the M60 / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
The M60 was closed in one direction, between Bredbury and Denton, following the crash from around 2:30pm onwards, and all traffic was diverted while investigations were ongoing.
GMP’s Serious Collision Investigation Unit is in the process of conducting enquiries, and at this time, it isn’t believed that any other vehicle was involved in this incident.
This is why police are appealing for anyone who may have witnessed the collision, or who has dash-cam footage, to get in on contact.
Police have also thanked the members of the public who stopped by the roadside to give the man initial first aid before emergency services arrived.
Police issue update on Oasis arrests and fence-jumpers
Daisy Jackson
Greater Manchester Police have shared an update on the arrests made at the opening two nights of Oasis Live ’25.
More than 100,000 people have flocked up to Heaton Park on Friday and Saturday evening for the first two of five Oasis reunion shows.
And largely, things have gone without a hitch, with only 15 arrests made so far.
The majority of these are arrests on suspicion of fraud, with five men and a woman in three separate incidents attempting to access the Oasis gig with fake accreditation.
Another man was arrests on suspicion of assaulting a member of security staff.
Two more men were arrested on suspicion of assault – a section 18 inside the Oasis gig at Heaton Park, and another for a section 47 outside.
Police have also said that ‘a number of people’ have attempted to access the gigs without tickets, with a perimeter gate breached on Saturday night, but ‘failed to do so’.
Five drones which breached airspace restrictions were seized on Friday.
A Section 34 Dispersal Order, which gives officers the power to direct individuals to leave a specified area and not return for 48 hours, has been in place for each night of the Oasis concerts so far.
This will be re-assessed before each concert this week, with the Gallagher brothers back at Heaton Park on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
GMP around Manchester ahead of the Oasis reunion shows. Credit: GMP
Assistant Chief Constable Matt Boyle said: “We have been planning for these events for several months, working with partners and the organisers to make sure everyone can enjoy the concerts safely. To that end, I’m pleased to say that the first two Oasis homecoming events have been a success.
“What has been especially pleasing is how more than 100,000 people have enjoyed these iconic events safely and without trouble.
“We will have a highly visible presence in and around Heaton Park, and across the city, to ensure the next three events continue to pass safely.
“A number of people without tickets attempted to gain entry through a perimeter gate on Saturday night but failed to do so.
Credit: The Manc GroupCredit: Tiktok benwalkerofficialPolice say ‘just 15’ arrests made at Oasis so far
“We continue to support the event organisers and the local authority with their plans preventing any unauthorised access to the arena site.
“While arrests have thankfully been minimal, we have had to take some suspects to custody, including one after an alleged assault on a steward on Saturday night. We will not tolerate any abuse of anyone doing their job.
“On Friday night we also dealt with a number of breaches of airspace restrictions involving drones where our officers seized five drones and spoke to two other pilots.
“We continue to have airspace restrictions in place on the nights of the concerts and anyone found breaching the one-and-a-half-mile restriction zone could face prosecution.”
The Manc -
5th February 2021 
