Could Another Surge Prevent UK From Reopening?

Now that countries from the European Union are now accepting fully vaccinated travelers, the UK is a different story. Despite the outcry from both US and UK aviation and travel groups, it seems that the UK plans to play it safe.

Unfortunately, it is a tough spot for Prime Minister Boris Johnson. The UK’s travel industry employs around 860,000 people. On the other hand, the latest COVID19 cases are increasing again. On Sunday, the British government announced that residents should rather take vacations at home as the UK will maintain its current rules up to the end of July.

Justice Secretary Robert Buckland said that “There are going to be significant trade-offs”. He added that “We’ve tried to strike the right balance between the natural need in some cases for international travel, but also the imperative of making sure that we do everything we can at home to contain and prevent inadvertent spread of new variants”.

Delta chief Ed Bastian said that “If the UK delays much longer, unfortunately they’re going to lose some real opportunities for US travelers because it’s not going to be a viable option on their list”.

Health Authorities Against Easing Travel Restrictions

Health authorities warned that things could get worse if the government relaxed its travel restrictions now. Calum Semple who is a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergency warned that it is going to be a “pretty miserable” winter ahead. Semple said that we should expect “other respiratory viruses” by winter.

Instead of prematurely opening the economy, Semple believes that the UK should focus on vaccinating more people to lessen the impact of a possible surge.

Public Health England agrees and recommends that the UK should maintain its current restrictions. This allows more people to complete their doses. Susan Hopkins who is the strategic response director at the Public Health England said that “we may need to do further lockdowns this winter” if hospitals are overwhelmed. To avoid this, she believes that “we should predominantly holiday at home this summer”.