Offshore Workers Exempt from New UK Border Rule

Workers undertaking activities in offshore installations are exempt from new self-isolation requirements for UK arrivals, which are due to kick in on June 8.

Under the new rules anyone entering the UK, bar a few exceptions, will be required to carry out 14 days of self-isolation. A breach of self-isolation would be punishable with a $1,233 (GBP 1,000) fixed penalty notice in England or potential prosecution and unlimited fine, the government outlined. The devolved administrations will set out their own enforcement approaches.

In addition to offshore workers, also exempt from the new self-isolation rules are those undertaking activities in upstream petroleum infrastructure, critical safety work on offshore installations and wells that are being decommissioned or which are being preserved pending demolition or reuse or activities for the provision of workers, goods, materials or equipment or in the provision of other essential services required to support the safe operation of activities.

A person engaged in operational, maintenance or safety activities of a downstream oil facility that has a capacity in excess of 20,000 tons does not have to self-isolate either.

New UK border rules were announced on May 22 by UK Home Secretary Priti Patel. A list of exemptions to the new requirements was published by the government on the same day.

“As the world begins to emerge from what we hope is the worst of the coronavirus pandemic, we must look to the future and protect the British public by reducing the risk of cases crossing our border,” Patel said in a government statement on Friday.

“We are introducing these new measures now to keep the transmission rate down and prevent a devastating second wave,” Patel added.

“I fully expect the majority of people will do the right thing and abide by these measures. But we will take enforcement action against the minority of people who endanger the safety of others,” the home secretary continued.

As of May 26, there have been 261,188 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the UK, with 36,914 deaths, according to the latest information from the World Health Organization (WHO). Globally, there have been 5.4 million confirmed cases and 343,514 deaths, as of May 26, WHO data shows.

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