BRITS in the toughest Tier 3 lockdown areas should NOT go on holiday over the half-term, No10 said today.
People having to live under the strictest rules in huge parts of the country shouldn’t jet off abroad – or even leave their local area, Downing Street said today.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman urged people to skip any half-term breaks they had planned.
He said today: “People should not travel outside the area except for a very short list of exemptions, such as for care or work purpose”.
Parts of the UK including Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire will be plunged into the drastic lockdown restrictions, with bars and pubs forced to shut, just as schools break up for the half-term break.
The new advice will ruin thousands of holidays for many families will have already booked holidays.
As many as 7.3 million people are living in Tier 3 lockdown areas.
The official advice tells Brits “to avoid travelling outside the ‘Very High’ area they are in, or entering a ‘Very High’ area, other than for things like work, education, accessing youth services, to meet caring responsibilities or if they are in transit.
“People should avoid staying overnight in another part of the UK if they are resident in a ‘Very High’ area, or avoid staying overnight in a ‘Very High’ area if they are resident elsewhere.”
But Downing Street did not ban overseas travel.
This could mean families are dealt a massive financial blow if their insurance will only pay out the cost of their trip if it was made impossible by Government travel guidance.
Constantly changing foreign travel advice means there are very few countries Brits can travel to without facing quarantine.
Cyprus is the latest country in danger of having its quarantine-free status revoked as coronavirus infection rates hit 94 cases per 100,000.
But there are hopes holidays could become easier after Grant Shapps, the Transport Secretary, vowed to introduce an “early release” testing program to release returning travellers from quarantine earlier.
