Hancock Offers Hope To Holidaymakers, Boris Squashes It

UK Holidaymakers Face £5,000 Fine From Today For leaving The Country Under Strict New Travel Law

Brits with both jabs may not face quarantine after holidays, but the government is dithering. Image: Pexels

Matt Hancock appeared to offer a glimmer of hope to British holidaymakers only to have Prime Minister Boris Johnson pour cold water on a swift easing of restrictions just hours later.

SPEAKING on June 21, Health Secretary Hancock said the government was working on easing travel rules for Brits with both jabs but was waiting on the results of a pilot scheme before making a firm decision.

But just hours later Prime Minister Boris Johnson cautioned, “I want to stress that this is going to be – whatever happens – a difficult year for travel. There will be hassle, there will be delays, I am afraid, because the priority has got to be to keep the country safe and stop the virus coming back in.”

The PM also warned of a “rough winter” as Britain’s daily Covid cases have risen by 37 per cent in a week to 10,633 cases.

Britain’s battered travel industry has warned that it is losing billions as the muddle over travel restrictions continue, with the trade union representing British pilots slamming them as “ludicrously cautious”.

Johnson did however indicate that ‘Freedom Day’ in England and Wales is still on course and that it could even arrive early.

“As I say, the vaccination rollout is going gangbusters and loads of people are coming forward now for their second jabs,” the PM said.

“Please come forward, get your second jab, and it is great that today we will have done all of JCVI one to nine, so everybody over 50 will have been offered two jabs as of today plus all care workers, all the vulnerable groups, huge numbers of people.

“I think almost 60 per cent of adults in this country have now had or been offered two jabs so we are one of the most vaccinated countries in the world. But look at the numbers of delta, the ‘Delta’ variant, it is sadly going up still, it is going up by about 30 per cent a week in cases, hospitalisations up by roughly the same amount and so sadly ICU admissions into intensive care.

“So, we have got to be cautious but we will be following the data the whole time,” he added.


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Deirdre Tynan

Deirdre Tynan is an award-winning journalist who enjoys bringing the best in news reporting to Spain’s largest English-language newspaper, Euro Weekly News. She has previously worked at The Mirror, Ireland on Sunday and for news agencies, media outlets and international organisations in America, Europe and Asia. A huge fan of British politics and newspapers, Deirdre is equally fascinated by the political scene in Madrid and Sevilla. She moved to Spain in 2018 and is based in Jaen.

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