Covid-19: 'Too early' to decide on summer holidays, says Hancock

It is "too early" to know whether summer holidays can go ahead, the health secretary has said.

Matt Hancock said there was still "a lot of uncertainty" but ministers were doing everything possible to make sure people could have a holiday this year.

He told the BBC he had booked his own summer break in Cornwall "months ago".

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer urged the government to "get rid of the mixed messages" about whether people should book holidays for later in the year.

Some Tory MPs and businesses also criticised the government for fuelling uncertainty for travel companies already struggling in the pandemic.

It follows confusion after Transport Secretary Grant Shapps warned "people shouldn't be booking holidays right now - not domestically or internationally".

Downing Street said Prime Minister Boris Johnson would unveil a roadmap for easing restrictions - potentially including travel - in the week beginning 22 February.

Analysis by BBC political correspondent Jonathan Blake

For most announcements from the government, a day here or there might not make much difference.

But nobody wants to wait any longer than necessary for the promised "roadmap" to take England out of lockdown.

So when the prime minister promised that "on 22 February" he would reveal that plan, Conservative MPs were among those marking their diaries.

But now Downing Street has said the roadmap will come "on the week of the 22nd" - which isn't quite the same.

In response, Tory backbenchers are warning the government not to "backslide" on its promise.

They want to hold ministers to their aim of giving schools two weeks' notice before re-opening to all pupils on 8 March.

A vocal minority of Conservative MPs have argued the current lockdown is too strict and needs to lift as soon as possible.

Others have been more patient and kept faith the government will take the right decisions at the right time.

But the further cases fall, the more people get the vaccine and the longer time goes on, the more pressure on the government will grow.

Mr Hancock told BBC Breakfast it was too early to know which coronavirus restrictions may still be in place over the summer, but that he understood people wanted to make plans.

"People are yearning for certainty over whether they can have a summer holiday", he said, but "pandemics are difficult times and there is a lot of uncertainty".

"We are doing everything that we possibly can to make sure that people can have a holiday this summer but the vaccine rollout is absolutely essential to that," he continued.

The health secretary also said that, before summer holidays, the priority would be making sure people can see loved ones again - but it was too early to say when this might happen.

The latest government figures show a total of 13,509,108 people have now received the first dose of a vaccine in the UK - a rise of 450,810 from Wednesday.

The UK also reported another 678 people had died within 28 days of a positive Covid test, along with a further 13,494 new daily cases.

Sir Jeremy Farrar, a member of the government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said cases needed to fall below 10,000 a day before the UK should consider easing lockdown measures, with transmission rates still "incredibly high".

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it "doesn't make any sense" to set out plans to ease restrictions with arbitrary dates in March or April, adding that "the data has to drive us".

"In 2020 we lifted restrictions too quickly... as a result the transmission went back up in this country," he said.

Dawn Dillon, from Surrey, says her husband booked a holiday to Spain in June 2019 for the following year as her birthday present.

They were able to move the trip, which cost £1,000 for accommodation and flights, from 2020 to June 2021.

"But what do we do now - will we lose our holiday?" she asks.

"I know it's not a priority but it would be nice to have some clarity."

Dawn, who is 55 and asthmatic, says she had anticipated that she would have had a Covid vaccine, along with her husband, before the trip in June.

"But you don't know how advanced the vaccination process is in other countries," she adds.

Mr Johnson told a Downing Street briefing on Wednesday that as far as holidays were concerned, people would have to be a "little bit more patient".

The PM's official spokesman said Mr Johnson does not have a holiday planned but "is obviously keen to have a break over the summer".

But Labour's shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth criticised ministers for not being clearer about what the public could plan for.

He said he had yet to book a holiday because he was "in the same boat as everyone else".

Sir Keir said he had a "holding" booking for a break in Devon in August that is "subject to restrictions, that's the best anybody can do".

Senior Conservative MP Sir Charles Walker accused ministers of "ripping out" the goalposts on the timetable for lifting Covid restrictions.

People "need to have something to look forward to", he said.

One travel industry leader criticised the government's plea for people to stop making summer plans as "puerile and nonsensical".

And Heathrow Airport's chief executive said getting back to normality was not just about people's holidays but also to "protect people's businesses and livelihood".

Meanwhile, Henry Joce, of Tencreek Holiday Park and Campsite in Cornwall, told BBC Radio 5 Live it may be too late, not too soon, to book a spot there over certain dates this summer.

He said soaring demand for breaks over the past fortnight meant he was at risk of selling out during peak weeks, which he put down to people "being desperate to get away".

Under the current national restrictions, holidays are not permitted anywhere in the UK. International travel is restricted to essential purposes, such as for work, medical appointments, or education.

A new online portal allowing UK and Irish nationals and residents travelling from certain "red list" countries to book a place in hotel quarantine had technical issues as it launched on Thursday.

From Monday, arrivals from 33 nations deemed high-risk due to new virus variants must isolate for 10 days in managed facilities at a cost of at least £1,750.

All other arrivals must see out a 10-day quarantine at home, but will be required to pay £210 for two additional private virus tests booked prior to arrival.

Have you planned a holiday for this year? Are you returning to the UK soon and will be staying at a quarantine hotel? Please share your experiences.