Yahoo News Coronavirus: Government minister suggests no point booking holiday this summer
There is no point booking a summer holiday at the moment while the UK combats the coronavirus pandemic, a government minister has suggested.
Speaking after the lockdown in the UK was extended by three weeks, with the government refusing to be drawn on any exit strategy, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said he would certainly not be booking a summer holiday at present.
In comments to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Shapps said “clearly people will want to see what the trajectory of this disease is in the next few weeks”.
He added: “I won’t be booking a summer holiday at this point, let’s put it that way.”
Later on Friday, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman was asked about the Transport Secretary’s comments during a Westminster briefing.
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He said: “While we are making progress in our fight against coronavirus, we are not able to say with certainty the point at which the social distancing measures can be relaxed and in terms of travelling within the United Kingdom for holidays, that is not something which the current social distancing guidelines allow for.
“And secondly, in terms of travel abroad, the advice of the Foreign Office continues to be that you should go abroad for essential travel only.
“As of today, it is a fact that both the guidelines and the official Foreign Office advice do not allow for people going on holidays.”
