Johnson: ‘Tougher’ quarantine measures for countries with mutant coronavirus

Tougher new quarantine measures will only apply to the “red list” countries of most concern rather than being a blanket measure, Boris Johnson indicated.

The Prime Minister said the measures – expected to include a plan forcing arrivals from Covid-19 hotspots to quarantine in hotels – would be set out by Home Secretary Priti Patel.

Mr Johnson also said that “in the next few weeks” he would set out the exit route from the pandemic and the current lockdown.

The Prime Minister will use a Commons statement later on Wednesday to outline a plan for England’s schools, which are currently closed to all but vulnerable pupils and the children of key workers.

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Johnson said the new quarantine measures for England being set out by Ms Patel would be aimed at preventing concerning new mutant strains of the virus reaching Britain.

He said: “The Home Secretary will be setting out later today … even tougher measures for those red list countries where we are particularly concerned about new variants.”