olidaymakers faced fresh confusion over whether they can travel to amber list countries on Tuesday as a cabinet minister suggested people can “visit friends”.
Passengers faced border queues of up to three hours on Monday as thousands of Britons jetted off as Covid restrictions were eased, including to amber list countries such as Spain and France.
George Eustice said there were “reasons” people felt the need to travel to amber zones, despite official Government advice stating people “should not” travel to those countries.
The Environment Secretary’s comments clashed with the London director of Public Health England Professor Kevin Fenton who said: “Don’t travel unnecessarily if you don’t need to.”
Asked why more than 150 planes left for amber destinations on Monday, Mr Eustice told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We don’t want to stop travel altogether and the reason, as Matt Hancock set out, that we have the amber list is there will be reasons why people feel they need to travel either to visit family or indeed to visit friends.
“They can travel to those countries but they then have to observe quarantine when they return and have two tests after returning.
“So people can travel to those areas, yes, but they will then have to subject themselves to the quarantine requirements on return.”
Asked if people should “think twice” about going overseas, he replied: “I think if you’re able to, that would be good just until we have more certainty about what’s happening with the variants, what’s happening in other European countries and other holiday destinations.”
Despite Mr Eustice’s remarks about visiting friends, Boris Johnson insisted people should not be going on holiday to countries placed on the amber list of travel restrictions.
The Prime Minister said it was “very important for people to grasp” that places on the list should not be considered holiday destinations.
He said: “If people do go to an amber list country – if they absolutely have to for some pressing family or urgent business reason – if they have to go to an amber list country, then please bear in mind that you will have to self isolate, you will have to take tests and do a passenger locator form and all the rest of it but you’ll also have to self isolate for 10 days when you get back and that period of self-isolation, that period of quarantine, will be enforced with fines of up to £10,000.
“So I think it’s important for people to understand what an amber list country is.”
Under the plan vaccinated Britons travelling to EU states would not need to have a Covid test or quarantine on arrival, according to The Daily Telegraph.
