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Public 'lack faith in govt on quarantine', poll finds
Britons do not believe the government will be able to successfully implement its 14-day quarantine on arrival policy, a new poll commissioned by travel’s Quash Quarantine campaign has found.
Some 85% of respondents to the survey said they "lacked confidence" in government make quarantine work, with the survey instead finding significant support for various alternatives to the measures introduced on Monday (8 June).
Among the 70% of respondents who expressed an opinion on alternatives, 59% said they supported the idea of air bridges or travel corridors to restore quarantine-free travel with certain countries.
Seven in 10, meanwhile, said they believed a greater test and trace effort would be a better way forward, with more than 80% believing this would be less damaging to the UK economy.
The survey of 2,102 UK residents was carried out by AudienceNet over 8-9 June. Quash Quarantine has been backed by around 500 British travel firms, including Kuoni, Mark Warner and Caribtours.
George Morgan-Grenville, Quash Quarantine leader and chief executive of tour operator Red Savannah, said: “These figures tell us the true feeling of the UK public about these unworkable and disproportionate quarantine measures.
"It’s staggering government seems willing to gamble with people’s livelihoods in the travel and hospitality sector, with apparently little regard for the hundreds of thousands of jobs likely to be lost.
“For a government that always says it is guided by science, we are still waiting for the scientific evidence. Meanwhile, alternatives to quarantine, which will result in considerably less economic damage, seem to have been ignored.
“We urge the government to outline urgently how travel corridors will be introduced on 29 June so that the sector can focus on planning for the summer, rebuilding for the future and protecting as many jobs as possible.”
Just 9% of respondents said they believed the economy would be unaffected by quarantine; 36% said they felt it would to "many" job losses, while only 15% said they thought the new measures would work.
Nearly a third (32%) said they felt the government had introduced quarantine with no scientific evidence, with a further 42% stating they were unsure whether there was any evidence in its favour.
James Chapple
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