Thread by @AdamWagner1

🚨⚽️Amendment to travel regulations in force yesterday

The Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel and Operator Liability) (England) (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulations 2021

People with a "Euro 2020 invite" avoid self-isolation/hotel quarantine
legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2021/731/…

Remember this story? That is what this is about

theguardian.com/football/2021/…

Basically, anyone who falls within these categories is exempt from both the requirement to self-isolate and the hotel quarantine rules

Footballers are already exempt (though not, I don't think, from the other self-isolation regulations which require people to self-isolate when notified by NHS Test and Trace, which explains why Scotland/England footballers are self-isolating)

There are a few other international event-type exceptions included in these regulations. There have always been quite a lot of exceptions for diplomats, people coming for international conferences etc.

I have updated my Covid resources table to include these new amendment regulations docs.google.com/document/d/1ne…

I don't understand this story, currently on BBC News - as far as I can tell, the law has already been changed and Euro 2020 VIPs will be exempt from self-isolation laws. I suppose the UK still needs to authorise how many so that will still be negotiated

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-575800…

Actually, I assumed UK govt needed to authorise how many (as they had to with G7) but it looks like I was wrong about that. You just need evidence from the FA that you fall within one of the categories.

e.g. "a senior executive of an organisation which is a sponsor or partner"

Ah, I understand BBC now (sorry, being slow). Govt are saying that the officials will still be subject to the local covid restrictions (such as self-isolating if exposed to Covid, bans on large indoor gatherings etc). That's right - they are exempt from the travel rules only

One more thought about this - a lot of reaction on Twitter to my tweet along the lines that this seems odd prioritisation, "people who are important" shouldn't be exempt etc. I can entirely understand that, but one thing I would emphasise is that this is how the government...

... have behaved throughout the pandemic, there have always been odd exceptions in the rules (either overtly or implicitly) which look like narrow politics not public health, for example:
1. The grouse shooting exception (theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/s…)

2. Being able to go abroad to view a property even though you couldn't to see a long term partner telegraph.co.uk/travel/comment…
3. The current travel regulations have exemptions from hotel quarantine for children travelling to boarding school (!) and attendees at political conferences

As I have said many, many times, one of the problems with the way these regulations have been made is they almost entirely bypass and Parliamentary scrutiny and are imposed by the executive so pretty much anything goes.