A SWINDON man charged with failing to abide by Covid quarantine rules will not face action after prosecutors withdrew his case.

Joao Henrique Teixeira Rodrigues had been charged with failing to travel directly to a quarantine hotel.

It was alleged this happened after the 43-year-old arrived at Heathrow Airport’s Terminal 5 on February 15, 2021.

The allegation is an offence under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, International Travel) (England) Regulations 2020.

But in a hearing at Swindon Magistrates’ Court on Monday (July 25), Teixeira Rodrigues, of Morse Street, was told that the prosecution were withdrawing the charge.

February 15, 2021 was the first day managed quarantine hotels came into effect in England.

At the time, any passenger arriving in England from a red list country was required to quarantine in a government-approved facility for 10 days.

It was aimed to reduce the risk of new Covid-19 variants being imported into the country after a spike of cases over winter 2020-21.

Among the countries on the red list at the time were the United Arab Emirates, South Africa and Brazil.

Hotel quarantine was scrapped in December 2021.