Exclusive: Ministers race to book 28,000 quarantine hotel rooms by 5pm on Friday

Ministers are racing to reserve 28,000 hotel rooms across the UK by 5pm on Friday evening in a bid to launch the Government's "red list" quarantine scheme by the middle of this month.

Documents seen by The Telegraph reveal that ministers have asked hotel bosses to be ready to accommodate 1,425 passengers a day by February 15.

The scheme – planned to run until at least March 31 according to the memo – will see returning passengers quarantined in hotel rooms for 11 nights at a cost of up to £800 per person.

On Thursday night, sources confirmed that the Government will pay the estimated £55 million bill up front but then attempt to recoup the money from passengers.

The documents also show that Government-appointed security guards will be posted on all floors of the hotels, with guests expected to clean their own rooms. 

Hotels will be asked to provide three meals a day along with seven items of laundry for unprepared guests.

The move comes after a day of chaos in which hotels, airlines, airports and Border Force officials said they had been left in the dark over the scheme, first mooted three weeks ago.

The quarantine hotels have been targeted at Britons returning from 33 "red list" countries to prevent new Covid variants spreading from Brazil and South Africa, but ministers have said the scheme could be expanded if more nations become a risk.

The document says: "Given the exceptional nature of this activity, the 'red list' countries are likely to be subject to change and suppliers should be aware that flexibility around requirements is required."

The proposal, sent to prospective hotels at around 5pm on Thursday, says rooms are required close to 10 key airports and ports, from Heathrow and Eurostar to Manchester and Aberdeen.

It says hotels applying to take part in the scheme must be exclusively for quarantine passengers and must respond to the Government by 5pm on Friday.

The plan estimates that 1,425 passengers will need to be quarantined each day, with the majority arriving at Heathrow. It estimates that an "implied total capacity" of 28,140 rooms will be required as each room will require a 72-hour deep clean after each 10-day stay.

The tender documents say the scheme will run for an "initial period" of 45 days until March 31, but the Government has reserved the right to extend it on a rolling seven-day notice period in order to prevent the import of the new Covid variants that have emerged in South Africa and Brazil.

Hotels will have to provide three meals a day – with a menu that is not repetitive – via room service at a cost of between £50 and £80 plus VAT. Passengers will be required to take a Covid test on both their second and eighth days, allowing them to leave if it is negative.

All hotels will be vetted to ensure they are Covid-secure, with one-way systems, screens at reception to protect staff and guests, keycards to be disinfected before and after use, separate staircases and lifts for quarantining passengers and signage to ensure that all residents socially distance.

Government security guards will stay on-site, supervising the checking in of passengers when they arrive and shepherding them to their rooms. They will "conduct internal and external patrols" to ensure the safety of all and prevent unauthorised access to the hotel, accompanying any guests who go outside to get fresh air or to smoke.

An announcement on the scheme by Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, had been promised for Thursday by Boris Johnson, but Number 10 postponed it until next week as officials rushed to put together plans to meet the February 15 deadline.