Asked by: Baroness Shackleton of Belgravia (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what health screening, if any, occurs at UK borders to identify people with COVID-19 entering the country.
Answered by Baroness Williams of Trafford - Captain of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen-at-Arms (HM Household) (Chief Whip, House of Lords)
Border Force's remit does not extend to medical screening of passengers at ports. Medical assessments of arriving passengers is for Public Health Officials.
Anyone arriving at the border identified by Border Force officers as potentially symptomatic will be directed to follow the latest public health advice.
Schedule 21 of the Coronavirus Act 2020 confers a power on immigration officers to direct or remove a person who they reasonably suspect may be infectious with coronavirus to a suitable place for screening and assessment by a public health officer. These powers may be exercised following prior consultation with a public health officer, where practicable, and with regard to the relevant guidance.
We are currently working with the relevant public health authorities to develop guidance for the use of these powers.