Thousands of travellers in hotel quarantine have been told they can leave from 4pm – 12 hours after the red list was abolished.

Many have already left, citing the ending of the red list status for all countries at 4am on Wednesday morning.

The news that all 11 African nations would be taken off the red list was confirmed by the health secretary, Sajid Javid, during the debate on new Covid measures.

Later on Monday a minister promised that the inmates would be able to “follow the relevant rules as if they had arrived from a non-red list country”.

In this case all travellers who have taken a “day two” test and received a negative result should be able to leave quarantine.

A letter given to people in hotel quarantine around lunchtime by the Managed Quarantine Service suggests otherwise.

It reads: “By law, you are required to remain in the managed quarantine hotel until you are formally notified that you may leave.

“If you have been notified that you have tested positive for Covid then you will continue to be required by law to complete your quarantine.

“For those unvaccinated guests who have been notified that you have been a contact of someone who has tested positive you must also continue to remain in quarantine.

“For everyone who wants to leave quarantine I can confirm that you will be leaving today. To secure this we need to make changes to the legal regulations to state your stay in quarantine can be transferred to home isolation.

“We are taking urgent advice from public health officials to ensure that the departure of our guests continues to meet the requirements for protecting the UK from the spread of Covid.

“We will also be asking for details of your onward isolation so that we can share this with test and trace colleagues.

“We expect to begin to be able to begin departures from 4pm today, when you will also be given clear instructions on the requirements of home isolation.”

The Department for Health and Social Care has clarified that most of the estimated 5,000 in hotel quarantine will be able to leave isolation so long as they have been fully vaccinated and have a negative result from a “day two” PCR test.

People leaving hotel quarantine will be provided with two free PCR tests.

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