British residents arriving in England from Covid hotspots will have to quarantine in hotels, Home Secretary Priti Patel is expected to announce.
The measures will apply to people coming from most of South America, southern Africa and Portugal, amid concern over new variants of the virus.
Most overseas visitors from those countries are already barred from entering the UK.
But Labour said hotel quarantine should be mandatory for all arrivals.
British nationals and those with residency rights who arrive from high-risk countries will be required to quarantine in a hotel at their own expense for up to 10 days, in a bid to improve compliance with self-isolation rules.
Senior ministers met on Tuesday night to approve the plan, following days of disagreement over the details.
They also agreed that if other areas were designated as high risk in the future, then the requirement for hotel quarantine would be extended.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps had argued for a targeted approach to quarantine, while the home secretary had favoured its more widespread use, according to BBC political correspondent Iain Watson.
Ms Patel will set out further details in the House of Commons, including the timescale for the policy and who will be exempt.
She told MPs on Tuesday the government would not hesitate to take further action to protect the UK from new variants, adding: “Measures are always under review.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called for tougher measures to combat the spread of new variants from abroad.
He told reporters on Tuesday: “It’s very clear that we need to have quarantine comprehensively in hotels for everybody coming into the country, we need much stronger defences at our borders.”
