The COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown has given some people time to resume old hobbies and others an opportunity to discover the joy of new pastimes (as well as causing those of us who are parents to be driven round the bend with the never-ending cycle of washing up, cleaning, batch-cooking, thinking up novel ways to entertain toddlers, educate young children and occupy teenagers…ah! The list goes on…but that, perhaps, is for another article…)
Many of us have managed to find the time to dust off books given as Christmas presents or bought on a blissfully quiet pre-coronavirus afternoon spent in a book shop that then found itself to the outer reaches of our bookshelves, alone and unread. I have certainly managed to read more in the last few months than I have in the last few years. And so, as Priti Patel announced the government’s plans for the compulsory quarantine for international travellers arriving in the UK on or after 8th June 2020, I was immediately reminded of Albert Camus’ ‘The Plague’ (eerily appropriate reading material for a global pandemic). In it, Camus writes:
“Once plague had shut the gates of the town, they had settled down to a life of separation, debarred from the living warmth that gives forgetfulness of all.”
If concepts like ‘quarantine’ and ‘lockdown’ are marked by anything it is the sense of detachment from the social interaction we humans need to give substance and meaning to our lives. Zoom calls can only give us so much succour. We need to see and be around people to truly feel connected.
Returning to the role of immigration lawyer in the midst of an epidemic that has changed the face of the rules that govern our society beyond recognition, the quarantine on international travellers that has been announced is one of the most draconian measures to have been put into place by the government during the COVID-19 pandemic. To really understand the scale of the interference of the State in the lives of individuals, you need to read the small print. As you know, that’s what we do at Elaahi & Co Solicitors:
All international travellers arriving in the UK (including British citizens, but not those on a list of exceptions, addressed below) on or after 8 June 2020 must self-isolate for 14 days.Those without accommodation “will be required to self-isolate in facilities arranged by the government.” In exceptional circumstances, some individuals may be refused entry to the UK.
But, self-isolation here is not the same form of self-isolation that we all collectively had to observe in March, April and May. It is far, far more draconian. Under the compulsory quarantine for international travellers, you must stay at home for 14 days. There are no exceptions for daily exercise or for essential shopping. There is no ‘reasonable excuse’ exception. Strictly applied, if you breach this self-isolation, you are liable for criminal sanction.
Some international travellers, however, are exempt. There is a very long list of categories of persons who are exempt at click here. They include, by way of example nuclear personnel who are essential to the safe and secure operations of a licenses nuclear site, people engaged in urgent or essential work on electronic communications networks, people engaged in urgent or essential work for the BBC’s broadcasting transmission network and services. There are many more categories of persons on the list, far too many to set them all out here.
