Covid-19 Update

David Linden Excerpts

Monday 17th May 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, of course. My hon. Friend puts it very wisely. As the Member of Parliament for Burton, which is famous for its beer and its pubs, she no doubt speaks for her whole constituency when she says that she welcomes the measures we are taking and the steps we are able to take today. People should take those steps with caution. Outside remains better than inside. It is harder in the rain, Mr Deputy Speaker, but it is still better to be outside if you can. Putting more down to personal responsibility is the right approach at this stage, with the low level of virus and the huge scope of the vaccination project. I am very grateful to her for her support in pushing that agenda.

[David Linden (Glasgow East) (SNP)]

The Secretary of State will be aware that in Glasgow we have seen an increase in the virus due to the so-called Indian variant. That means that although everybody in this House is celebrating the return to indoor hospitality, many Glaswegians have not been able to experience it today, which we bitterly regret.

Up until 6 o’clock yesterday, flights were still coming into the UK from India, and 20,000 people have arrived in the UK since the alarm was raised about that variant. Does the Secretary of State really want to look Glaswegians in the eye and say that that was decisive action that has led to their staying in tier 3?

[Matt Hancock]

The history as the hon. Gentleman describes it is, in fact, wrong. We put India on the red list and therefore required hotel quarantine before the variant was designated even as under investigation, let alone as a variant of concern. So yes, we did take pre-emptive action. Anybody arriving now who has been in India in the past 10 days must go to a hotel to quarantine.