The US and Spain could be added to the list of 33 Covid hot spots, from where arrivals must quarantine in hotels for 10 days.
The Telegraph reported that Department for Transport and health officials have been considering the latest data on the risk of new Covid variants from the two countries. “Ministers at the Cabinet Covid operations committee will decide whether they should be added to the red list later this week,” said the report.
The US and Spain have both seen local transmission of new variants and are two of the biggest travel markets with the UK, added the Telegraph.
It said there are an estimated 1,000 arrivals a day from the US and 500 from Spain, who are currently allowed to quarantine at home.
The Telegraph also reports that the quarantine hotels are receiving less than half of the money handed over by arrivals from the ‘red list’ countries.
Passengers coming to five English airports from the high-risk countries are paying £1,750 each for their quarantine stays.
But the newspaper reported that operators are being paid about £50 a night for a single and £80 for a double room plus £20 for food and beverages, according to the Hotel Property Team, an industry consultancy.
For single travellers, this means only 44% of the £1,750 they pay goes to hoteliers.
Those that are sharing pay an additional rate of £650 per adult, taking the bill for a couple to £2,400, of which 46% goes to the hotel operator.