Daily Times

British minister for public health Jo Churchill on Wednesday assured the parliament that quarantine hotels will provide halal and vegetarian meals to Muslims to ensure that their needs are fully catered for.

People observing fasts will be provided meals at their appropriates times, the minister was responding to the question of MP for Wycombe Steve Baker who complained that his British Muslim constituents, particularly a muslim family was served with Bacon which is not halal food, and they find it difficult to get halal food.

He also said that during Ramzan they find it very difficult to feed themselves at the appropriate time.

Minister Jo Churchill said that it is incumbent upon the hotels to support Muslim guests during their time and particularly at this time of Ramzan. She said that they support the Muslims quarantining in hotels, who wanted to have their Covid test at a particular time of the day being sensitive to Ramadan.

Public health minister Jo said that she urge anyone who is unable to get their requirements met, to raise the issue, since it is a service which needs to be provided properly.

Since last week there have been protests and complaints from the British Pakistani families stranded in quarantine hotels over the lack of facilities particularly the quality of food provided during the fasting.

On 9 April, the UK government added Pakistan to the travel red list in the wake of the surge in the Covid cases in Pakistan. According to the UK government guidelines, British Pakistanis, and those with right of residence in the UK travelling from Pakistan are required to quarantine for 10 days at the officially approved hotels. In addition, they are required to pay around £200 to undertake two Covid tests on day 2 and day 8 during their quarantine period.

The issue of Pakistan’s addition to the travel red list and the subsequent treatment of Pakistanis at the quarantine hotels have been already being challenged by various UK based lawyers. Similarly, British MP’s have also been calling on the government to provide a timeframe for the review and removal of various countries from the red list.