Overseas holidays ‘unlikely’ to go ahead this summer, says Matt Hancock
Overseas holidays are unlikely to be possible this summer, according to Health Secretary Matt Hancock.
Speaking on ITV’s This Morning programme, he said that restricted movement was a ‘reality of life’ during the pandemic.
Asked whether ‘summer was cancelled’, he said that was ‘likely to be the case’, adding: "We haven’t made a final decision on that yet but it is clear that we will seek to reopen hospitality, some hospitality, from early July if we keep successfully reducing the spread of this virus, but social distancing of some kind is going to continue.
"The conclusion from that is that it is unlikely that big, lavish international holidays are going to possible for this summer."
The Health Secretary’s comments came after the Government announced that it will introduce a 14-day quarantine for anyone arriving in the UK from overseas, with the exception of Ireland and France.
It has not yet confirmed what date the quarantine will begin, and how long it’s expected to last. Spain has also announced today that it will be introducing a 14-day quarantine for all international visitors, starting from Friday.
Under the UK quarantine rules, people will have to provide a single addresss for their 14-day isolation period when they arrive at the border.
Domestic holidays are also still banned despite some lockdown restrictions being eased to allow people to travel to other places for exercise. The Government is warning that staying overnight at a location other than the place you live ‘for a holiday or other purpose is not allowed’. This includes visiting second homes.
Holiday accommodation is not expected to be allowed to open until step three of the Government’s recovery strategy, which would be July 4, at the earliest and premises will be required to meet new health and safety guidelines to minimise the risk of infection.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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