Priti Patel told the Commons that Border Force will check that travellers fill out a form with their contact details and location for isolation.
Leaving isolation prematurely in England could result in a fine of up to £1,000 or prosecution, she said.
“We will not allow a reckless minority to put our domestic recovery at risk,” she said.
Ms Patel told MPs that scientific advisers had said quarantine would not have been effective earlier in the coronavirus pandemic when infection rates in the UK were higher.
But now, imported cases of the virus posed a more significant threat, she said, so it was now important to “protect our hard-won progress as we move in the right direction”.
It comes as the latest Department of Health figures show another 359 people have died after contracting coronavirus, bringing the UK total to 39,728. An additional 1,871 people tested positive in the last 24-hour period.
Asked at the Downing Street briefing whether he would recommend people in the UK book foreign holidays, Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged the public to follow Foreign Office guidance against non-essential travel. “We’ve got to knock this virus on the head,” he said.
And while he urged EU workers who had left the UK because their jobs had disappeared during lockdown to return, he ruled out any alternatives to quarantine for them, such as a medical certificate.
“Come back to London, or the UK – but you’ve got to quarantine. Everybody has been in lockdown for a long time, I know it’s an imposition, but we really have got to beat this virus,” he said.
Ms Patel said in the Commons that the “proportionate and time-limited measures” would come into force on Monday, with “limited exemptions” intended to ensure supplies of essential items such as food and protective equipment were not disrupted.
The regulations apply to England, and Ms Patel said devolved administrations would set out their own rules for enforcing the quarantine.
Ms Patel said the measures would be reviewed after three weeks and the government would aim to ensure greater freedom in the long term, including establishing “international travel corridors” with countries deemed to be safe.
Ryanair said the proposals were “utterly ineffective”, with arrivals travelling from the airport before they isolate, potentially spreading infection, while the government would phone “less than 1%” of them to check they were complying.
“This 14-day UK quarantine is ineffective, completely useless, and will have no effect on British passengers who will largely ignore it,” a spokeswoman said.
The Confederation of British Industry said it needed more detail on how the policy would be reviewed, who would be exempt and how the international travel corridors with key trading partners could be created.
“Businesses and government urgently need to draw up an internationally coordinated plan to get people safely moving across borders as soon as possible,” said CBI president John Allen.
Responding to government confirmation of a 14-day quarantine for all air passengers and further detail on exemptions for those arriving in the UK, BCC Director General Adam Marshall said:
“Business communities in the UK and around the world remain concerned by the Government’s decision to impose a blanket quarantine on international arrivals.
“The safe re-establishment of connections to key markets and trade partners must now be a top priority for the Government. ‘Air bridges’ must be put in place swiftly for the sake of the many industries and livelihoods that depend on the UK’s connectivity across the world. Any review process should consult widely with affected business communities all across the UK.
“Co-ordinated checks at departure and arrival airports, together with other internationally-agreed safety measures, would alleviate the need for a blanket quarantine affecting arrivals from every country around the world.”
Source: BBC News & The British Chambers of Commerce
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