In a recent interview with ITV’s This Morning, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that holidays were unlikely to be able to go ahead this year due to Covid-19.
Although some restrictions have been lifted with phased steps over the next few months, the Health Secretary said that ‘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.”
Even if businesses do open, he also explained that social distancing would likely to continue in some form over several months.
He also defended the government’s decision on travelling for exercise when speaking with BBC Radio 4. He urged people to keep within the social distancing rules for it to work, and when asked about limits on where people drive, he said ‘no there isn’t.’
However, he did also highlight that this didn’t mean people should be going on holiday or travelling to stay over.
Summer events cancelled
To mirror the message, many events have been cancelled amid the uncertainty. Hundreds have to be halted throughout the summer months, including the popular Camp Bestival music festival that was due to go ahead at the end of July. The Bournemouth Air Festival and Dorset carnivals have also been affected. Plus, many more throughout the UK.
Holiday park closures
As soon as lockdown came into place, holiday parks, hotels, and B&Bs had to close their doors to guests. At the moment, the government’s plan is to try and phase the opening of the hospitality sector no earlier than the beginning of July. Many holiday parks have been dealing with an influx of people looking to transfer holidays or get a refund.
Haven Holidays recently updated their statement on the website to state they would remain closed until Thursday, 2 July. They are offering people a credit towards a holiday in the future or a full refund, and say they are working to contact everyone that this closure is affecting.
International travel restrictions
It may come as no surprise that international travel may be restricted over the summer while the country deals with the pandemic. A warning has been issued that a summer holiday may prove difficult as the new 14-day quarantine period was recently announced for people flying into the UK.
Rules could be implemented next month and will apply to all people coming into UK airports with the exception for those travelling from France.
The Prime Minister said this move was to prevent reinfection from abroad, and anyone arriving into the UK will have to provide an address to officials of where they will be residing during the 14-day quarantine period.
Different rules in Wales and Scotland
Although England has eased restrictions, people are being urged not to travel to Wales and Scotland as they have different guidelines in place. The public has been asked to not travel over the border for leisure activities and to stay in their local area.
