The Untold

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The Untold: Hotel Quarantine

Hotel Quarantine

BBC Radio 4 - The Untold, Hotel Quarantine

What is life like for those entering hotel quarantine on their return to this country?

Since the introduction of hotel quarantine in England more than 27,000 people have experienced it, with stays in hotels of up to a fortnight. Mohammed records his experiences.

The hotel quarantine system caught many travellers by surprise when it was introduced in England earlier this year. Since then more countries have been added to the red list and last month many British travellers in Pakistan faced a desperate scramble to get back to England before hotel quarantine became mandatory: Mohammed didn't make it and had to raise the £1750 for his eleven day stay at a Heathrow hotel. In this programme he records his experiences.

Mohammed went to Pakistan following the death of his father, who worked from the age of fifteen in the Bradford textile mills. When he died suddenly of covid there was so much to sort out in Britain and in his birthplace, Pakistan. Mohammed travelled there in February - taking time off from the ambulance service and prepared for what the trip entailed. What he hadn’t anticipated was Pakistan going on the red list. His return flight was cancelled and there was chaos at airports as the change took effect.

His time in hotel quarantine is marked by a never ending stream of phone calls as he tries to access his right to leave the room for half an hour a day. Guests have to be accompanied by security guards any time they want to leave the room and with hundreds of others also in quarantine it is really hard to book a slot. His room opens up onto a hallway, so he can’t see directly out into the world and there are many problems as food arrives late, the wrong food is delivered and he finds that some of what he is served is still frozen.

Throughout this time he keeps his recorder running, documenting his stay and his feelings as things go wrong: first the food and restricted access to exercise, but later the loss of wifi and television channels and then a worrying incident as a maintenance man moves between rooms without  protective equipment. Mohammed fears he could be infected by others in quarantine or by staff working with them. His day two and day eight covid tests arrive, but what will happen if he is found to have the virus and how could he cope emotionally if he has to be away from his family any longer?

Produced by Sue Mitchell
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