Three wings at an immigration detention centre close to Gatwick airport are in lockdown after a confirmed outbreak of Covid-19.
A notice seen by the Guardian, from the Home Office contractors Serco, which runs Brook House immigration removal centre, was pushed under detainees’ cell doors on Thursday morning confirming the outbreak.
From 2 December, England will be divided into three different tiers of restrictions. They are slightly amended from the previous system.
Across all tiers, shops, personal care, gyms and the wider leisure sector are set to reopen. Collective worship and weddings – with a maximum of 15 in attendance – can also resume.
Tier one
Under the new system hospitality businesses in England can stay open until 11pm with table service only but last orders must be made by 10pm, in an effort to stagger departures. The “rule of sixâ€Â will also remain in place indoors, meaning social household mixing is still allowed.
Spectator sport is set to resume, albeit with limits on numbers and abiding by social distancing. In tier 1, there will be a maximum crowd capacity outdoors of 50% of occupancy of the stadium or 4,000 people, whichever is smaller. Indoors, the maximum capacity is 1,000.
In tier 1, people will be encouraged to minimise travel and work from home where possible. Support bubbles – which allowed a single household to join with another household – are also being broadened across all tiers. Parents with a child under one will be able to form a support bubble, as well as those with a child under five who needs continuous care, such as a child with a disability. Also, in cases where there is a single adult carer, for a partner with dementia for example, they would also be able to form a support bubble.
The full government rules and guidance for tier 1 can be found here.
Tier two
Under the new system, although hospitality venues will be allowed to stay open until 11pm – with last orders at 10pm – only those that serve substantial meals can operate. It means pubs and bars that do not will have to close.
As before, social mixing outside of households or support bubbles will not be allowed indoors. The rule of six will apply outdoors.
Spectators will be allowed to watch sport in tier 2, with a maximum crowd capacity outdoors of 50% of the capacity of the stadium or 2,000 people, whichever is smaller. Indoors, the maximum capacity is 1,000.
Indoor entertainment venues, such as cinemas, casinos and bowling alleys, must also close.
The full government rules and guidance for tier 2 can be found here.
Tier three
Hospitality venues will have to close, except for delivery and takeaway service. In tier 3, hotels and other accommodation providers must also close, except for specific work purposes where people cannot return home. Outdoor sports, including golf and tennis, will be allowed to continue in all tiers, as will amateur team sports such as football. Unlike the first two tiers, spectators will not be allowed to watch sport in tier 3.
The full government rules and guidance for tier 3 can be found here.
It states that three wings are locked down due to Covid with detainees encouraged to stay in their rooms. One detainee who recently arrived in the UK on a small boat and was due to be removed to Spain on Thursday spoke to the Guardian from his cell.
“I am so relieved that my ticket for today’s flight was cancelled,†he said. “But it is a very difficult situation for us having to stay in our rooms. We are all scared we will catch Covid because we have been locked up in this place.â€
The news came after three charter flights for dozens of asylum seekers who recently arrived in the UK on small boats were halted this week following the submission of human rights and trafficking claims.
On Tuesday, a combined charter flight deportation flight for offenders and for small boats asylum seekers was due to fly to Belgium, Germany and Poland. Home Office sources confirmed that although 19 offenders were deported none of the asylum seekers, who between them had made nine human rights claims and 14 modern slavery claims, boarded the flight.
On Wednesday, Home Office sources said small boat asylum seekers due to be removed made 10 human rights claims and eight modern slavery claims, which prevented their removal on a flight booked to go to Germany, Austria and Lithuania.
Asylum seekers who recently arrived on small boats and who were due to be removed on Thursday on a flight to France, Spain and Portugal and who are currently confined to their cells in Brook House as a result of Covid, said all of them had been told their tickets for Thursday’s flight had been cancelled.
Three charities working with immigration detainees expressed concern about the Covid and charter flight situation.
Emma Ginn, the director of Medical Justice, said: “We fear this could be a calamity starting to unfold – one which was entirely avoidable and which we warned of in March. All immigration detainees should be released as soon as safe accommodation in the community can be arranged.â€
Celia Clarke, the director of Bail for Immigration Detainees, said: “The sacrifices made by everyone in the UK to protect the NHS and save lives have been continually undermined by the Home Office’s recklessness. The government should now recognise that the use of detention and deportation in the current climate helps to spread coronavirus and puts lives at risk.â€
Bella Sankey, the director of Detention Action, said: “It’s a huge relief that the rushed mass removal of people seeking asylum was halted this week. What a state of disarray our Home Office is in – these flights were being considered while Covid runs riot in detention centres.â€
Serco has been approached for comment.
On Wednesday, a Home Office spokesperson said about the cancellation of tickets of small boat asylum seekers officials were hoping to remove: “Once again, we received a number of late legal claims from migrants who had arrived on small boats who were also meant to be removed on this flight, meaning we were unable to proceed with their removal.
“These claims are often without merit but are given full legal consideration. We are determined to reform our broken asylum system and introduce a system which is firm and fair.â€
The Home Office has been approached for further comment.
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