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Economic Development

Covid-19: business travellers to be exempt from quarantine

'High-value' businesspeople will not need to self-isolate when returning to England, the transport secretary has announced

(Image: Photo by Gustavo Fring from Pexels)

'High-value' business travellers, sports stars and performing arts professionals will be exempt from England's quarantine requirement for international arrivals from Saturday.

Journalists and TV production staff will also benefit from the new policy announced by transport secretary Grant Shapps on Twitter. Exemptions will be "subject to specific criteria being met", the Cabinet minister said.

These include trips that create or preserve at least 50 º£½ÇÊÓÆµ jobs.

Individuals will only be exempt when undertaking specific business activity and will only be permitted to meet with others as required by that, the Department for Transport (DfT) said in a statement.

Further information will be issued once the new rules come into force at 4am on Saturday.

The DfT said sectors such as media and elite sport were also selected for exemption from quarantine as they "require specific, high-talent individuals who rely on international connections".

It added: "PHE (Public Health England) do not anticipate these changes will raise the risk of domestic transmission, due to the protocols being put in place around these exemptions, however all exemptions will remain under review."

Currently, nearly all people arriving in the º£½ÇÊÓÆµ from destinations not believed to be at low risk of coronavirus are required to self-isolate for 14 days.