A SYSTEM OF mandatory hotel quarantine has been announced in Northern Ireland. 

Any passenger arriving into NI who has been in, or arrived from a country on a ‘red list’ in the past 10 days must book and pay for a period of ‘managed isolation’ at a hotel. 

The system took effect straight away after it was announced yesterday evening. The countries on the red list include Brazil, Kenya, South Africa and Venezuela. 

The £1,750 10-day ‘package’ includes collection at the airport, transfer to a designated hotel and provision of PCR test kits. 

Bookings can be made through the online portal. Other passengers arriving into NI from non-red list countries use the same portal to pre-book their PCR tests for their self-isolation at home. 

Passengers will receive information about essential services on arrival. Food and drinks will be provided by the hotel during the isolation.

Anyone arriving into NI who has been outside the Common Travel Area in the past 10 days must provide evidence of a negative Covid-19 test result taken up to three days ago, complete a passenger location form, isolate for 10 days at home and book a day two and day eight Covid-19 test.

In the Republic, people arriving in from a list of designated states also pre-book and pre-pay to stay in a mandatory hotel quarantine facility. 

The system has hit some speed bumps along the way, with bookings paused this week in order to ramp up capacity after countries like the US, France and Italy were added to the list. 

The European Commission has asked Ireland to explain its reasons for including countries on the list of designated states.

The Minister for Health, as well as other government ministers, have staunchly defended the system as necessary to suppress variants that may be more immune to vaccines.