Mandatory hotel quarantine should apply to UK given spike in Indian variant - UCC expert

Applying mandatory hotel quarantine as a temporary and precautionary measure would prevent 'nasty outbreak' of Covid among the young and unvaccinated population in Ireland, says professor of public health

People queuing for Covid vaccinations at the ESSA academy in Bolton as the Indian coronavirus variant spread in the UK. Picture: PA

The UK should be included on the red list of countries requiring travellers to go into mandatory hotel quarantine (MHQ) given concerns over a spike in the Indian Covid variant there, a public health expert at University College Cork has said.

Professor of public health Ivan Perry said the “rapid uptick” in the B1617.2 variant of Covid-19 in the UK must be carefully monitored.