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There is mounting pressure on the government to allow holidays abroad, despite fears that a third wave of the coronavirus will be imported from Europe.
Britons are currently not allowed to leave the country unless their travel is included in a limited list of exceptions, and all arrivals must be isolated, and those coming from high-risk countries are expected to be isolated in hotels.
Conservative politicians are among those calling for a loosening of these restrictions, with former Minister Desmond Swayne saying, “The whole point of having a successful vaccine campaign is that we want to take advantage of it.”
The UK has received a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine to 51% of its estimated 52.7 million adults – one of the most successful in the world COVID-19 vaccination programs.
That success, along with the blockade, has meant a drop in deaths and cases in the UK, with 96 deaths within 28 days of a positive test reported Saturday, and another 5,587 cases.
Swayne said: “We must not forget the enormous economic costs of continuing the lockdown for another day.
“I feel like we have an excess of caution and not a sufficient sense of urgency about the damage.”
Huw Merriman, chair of the transport selection committee, said: “Given the success of the vaccine launch in the UK, it is essential that we stick to our dates and deliver a dividend in the form of international summer travel.”
“This will give everyone a boost and help preserve jobs in the travel industry.”
Transportation Secretary Grant Shapps has said he’s concerned developments in Europe, where infection rates are increasing and many countries are tightening restrictions.
France has seen its biggest one-day increase in cases since November, Germany says infections are increasing exponentially and Italy last week became the third country in Europe to exceed 100,000 deaths.
There is a fear that low vaccination rates across the bloc could lead to new variants capable of evading vaccines that would otherwise keep most of the UK’s vulnerable people safe.
A government task force is due to brief the prime minister on April 12 on the possibilities of resuming overseas travel, but this year’s summer vacation abroad seems likely to be canceled.
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Former Cabinet Minister David Davis backed a “smart lockdown on third wave countries” rather than extending a blanket ban on foreign travel.
He added: “You use vaccination passports, more tests, more quarantine, more outright lockdowns in high-risk countries. That’s the set of things we should use.”
Professor Mike Tildesley, a member of the Pandemic Influenza Modeling Scientific Group, which reports to the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE), told BBC Radio on Saturday: “International travel this summer is, for the average tourist, sadly I think extremely unlikely.
“We are taking a real risk if we start to have a lot of people traveling abroad in July, for example, and August, due to the potential for bring more of these new variants to the country. “
Europe’s vaccination program had been slow even before a three-day break in use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine last week for fear it could be related to blood clots.
The vaccine was declared “safe and effective” by the European medicines regulator, but the delay, as well as supply problems and the initial reluctance of some leaders to support the AstraZeneca vaccine have taken their toll on the EU’s vaccination hopes.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has threatened to ban exports of COVID-19 vaccines to the UK to make sure there are enough for Europeans.
She said yesterday: “We see the crest of a third wave forming in the member states, and we know we have to accelerate vaccination rates.”
AstraZeneca, in particular, could face export bans to countries outside the EU if it does not speed up its deliveries to the 27-nation bloc, the commission said.
The EU wants to vaccinate 70% of adults in late summer.
