Border controls and restrictions

¶2.156. By this time, despite the confirmation of cases of infection in the UK, the UK government had no effective border controls in place. Historically, the restriction of movement across borders has been a longstanding practice in the control of communicable diseases. However, in the modern era, the closure or restriction of borders is immensely complex, politically divisive and difficult to put into practice.

¶2.157. In order to be effective, border restrictions must be stringent and accompanied by a system of quarantine. There are economic, trade, diplomatic and legal implications, as well as various harmful consequences, including for the importation of food and supplies. This is both particularly relevant and particularly challenging for the UK, which has extensive international travel and trade links. It is also made more complex because the UK comprises England, Scotland and Wales (which have a common outer border) and Northern Ireland (which borders the Republic of Ireland and, therefore, the EU), with borders crossed daily by people who work and live on either side of them.

¶2.158. A number of countries introduced port-of-entry measures in response to Covid-19, including border closures, travel restrictions, temperature screening and diagnostic testing (when available). For example, in early January 2020, the Chinese government implemented exit screening for international flights leaving its major airports. Thermal scanning was used to identify passengers with a fever, who could then be tested for Covid-19 before boarding.³⁷⁸³⁷⁸ 'Effectiveness of airport screening at detecting travellers infected with novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)', B.J. Quilty, S. Clifford, CMMID nCoV working group, S. Flasche, R.M. Eggo, Euro Surveillance (2020), 25(5), 2000080 (https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.5.2000080; INQ000255395_0004) By mid-January, it was reported that a number of other countries and territories – including Hong Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore – had introduced entry screening at airports of arrivals from China.³⁷⁹³⁷⁹ INQ000023107

¶2.159. UK decision-makers therefore faced public and political pressure to restrict international travel from affected countries to control the spread, or even the influx, of Covid-19. Mr Johnson said that "the public believed that we had to close the borders and, politically, closing borders was seen as a panacea".³⁸⁰³⁸⁰ INQ000255836_0083 para 315

¶2.160. The scientific and public health advice, however, was that such measures were ineffective. The focus from January and into February 2020 was on self-isolation for those arriving from China and other affected countries.³⁸¹³⁸¹ 'Wuhan coronavirus: Health Secretary's statement to Parliament', Department of Health and Social Care and Matt Hancock, 27 January 2020 (https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/wuhan-coronavirus-health-secretarys-statement-to-parliament; INQ000237587_0002); 'Statement from the Chief Medical Officer for Wales about Coronavirus (2019-nCoV)', Welsh Government, 31 January 2020 (https://www.gov.wales/statement-chief-medical-officer-wales-about-coronavirus-2019-ncov; INQ000048722); INQ000254430_0002 para 12Show full note Professor Whitty told the Inquiry that, from a public health perspective:

" unless we closed borders to all nations for a prolonged period we would at best have delayed by a short period the onset of Covid-19".³⁸²³⁸² INQ000251645_00181 para 9.20

¶As explained to Mr Johnson in late February, "not everyone with Coronavirus will have a temperature, and not everyone with a temperature will have Coronavirus".³⁸³³⁸³ INQ000146564_0002

¶2.161. Other countries tried, with varying degrees of success, to impose mandatory border restrictions.³⁸⁴³⁸⁴ INQ000232194_0027 para 108; INQ000269203_0117 para 8.9; INQ000183899_0001; INQ000106058_0002; INQ000091660_0008-0009 para 22 A range of border controls was subsequently utilised in the UK. This included bans on travel from specified countries (such as South Africa in December 2020) and provisions for mandatory quarantine.³⁸⁵³⁸⁵ 'Travel ban implemented to protect public health following South Africa COVID-19 outbreak', Department for Transport, 23 December 2020 (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/travel-ban-implemented-to-protect-public-health-following-south-africa- covid-19-outbreak; INQ000054383); 'Government confirms mandatory hotel quarantine to be introduced from 15 February', Department of Health and Social Care, 5 February 2021 (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-confirms-mandatory- hotel-quarantine-to-be-introduced-from-15-february; INQ000054610)Show full note Permitted travel corridors were suspended in January 2021, following the identification of a new Covid-19 variant in Brazil.³⁸⁶³⁸⁶ INQ000216567

¶2.162. Early in the pandemic, the UK government itself had no detailed plans in place, let alone developed procedures, for imposing stringent border controls such as mandatory quarantine. A more effective system of restrictions or closures would have to have been in place, at the latest by mid-February, to attempt to control the spread of Covid-19 – and would likely have gained the UK only a short breathing period. In May 2020, the UK government and devolved administrations agreed in principle to a joint approach to international travel.³⁸⁷³⁸⁷ INQ000216505; INQ000216513 This underlines the practical and legal impediments during the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic. Having the tools in place (including for a coordinated approach across all four nations), in the event that travel restrictions are required in the future, should be part of the UK's pandemic preparedness.