Quarantine and the Law

You go on a Mediterranean cruise. A rat infection breaks out.

You are flown home with lots of nice doctors, who explain you have to quarantine for 4-5
days.

You thank them for their advice but say that you prefer not to.

What happens then?

Under English law, compulsory quarantine is possible whether you like it or not. A Justice of the Peace (a single magistrate) can order somebody to be removed to a hospital if there is a serious risk to others.

Also, it is a criminal offence if you refuse quarantine without a reasonable excuse.

This can result in a fine or jail.

Good, you might say, but if you had to get to work and felt absolutely fine, how would you feel then?

May 2026
Rodney Hylton-Potts