Health Protection (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020

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Health Protection (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020
Statutory Instrument
Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (variant 1, 1952-2022).svg
Citation SI 2020/129
Introduced by Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Territorial extent England and Wales (applies to England only)
Dates
Made10 February 2020
Laid before Parliament10 February 2020
Commencement 10 February 2020
Revoked25 March 2020
Other legislation
Made under Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984
Revoked by Coronavirus Act 2020
Status: Revoked
Text of statute as originally enacted

The Health Protection (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/129) was a set of regulations that came into effect in England on 10 February 2020 as a statutory instrument made under the Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984. The regulations were revoked on 25 March 2020.

Contents

The regulations were enacted by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, on the basis that the incidence and transmission of COVID-19 caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus represented a sufficient public health threat to introduce powers to keep individuals in isolation where public health professionals believed there was reasonable risk. The regulations applied to England only. [1]

Provisions

The regulations provided powers for the government to detain in isolation any person believed to be infected with Coronavirus and who had within the preceding 14 days arrived in England from an "infected area". [2] The detained person was required to answer questions about their health, contacts and travel history, and to allow the taking of biological samples. [3] Failure to comply, or attempting to abscond from isolation, was a criminal offence. [4]

On 14 February 2020 the Secretary of State designated Arrowe Park Hospital in Merseyside and the Kents Hill Park centre in Milton Keynes as "isolation" facilities, and the Hubei province of China (including Wuhan City) as an "infected area". [5]

Revocation

The regulations were revoked on 25 March 2020, on the same day that the Coronavirus Act 2020 came it force. [6] More stringent regulations were introduced the next day, as the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/350).

Background

According to a report in the Daily Mirror , the regulations were originally brought in after a person flown back to the UK from Wuhan threatened to "abscond" from the Arrowe Park Hospital isolation unit. The regulations provided the necessary powers to physically prevent someone from leaving. [7]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Explanatory Memorandum to The Health Protection (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  2. ↑ SI 129 (2020), Reg 4.
  3. ↑ SI 129 (2020), Reg 7(2).
  4. ↑ SI 129 (2020), Reg 15.
  5. ↑ "Other Notices: Department of Health, The Health Protection (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/129)". www.thegazette.co.uk. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 3 March 2020.
  6. ↑ "Coronavirus Act 2020". legislation.gov.uk. 25 March 2020. Schedule 21 para. 24. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
  7. ↑ Bloom, Dan (10 February 2020). "UK coronavirus 'imminent threat' declared because person threatened to leave quarantine". Mirror. Retrieved 31 July 2025.

Bibliography

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