- Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he is “optimistic” people will be able to have summer holidays this year – but it depends on certain things going well.
- The success of the vaccine rollout and level of Covid cases would be factors taken into consideration.
- Nearly 9.3 million people in the UK have had their first dose of a vaccine.
- The government is aiming to offer all care home residents and carers, people over 70 and frontline care workers a vaccination by mid-February.
A recent BBC news report reveals that Boris Johnson ‘optimistic’ about summer holiday prospects.
Boris is optimistic about summer holidays
Mr Johnson, speaking during a visit to Batley, West Yorkshire, said: “I don’t want to give too much concrete by way of dates for our summer holidays. I am optimistic – I understand the reasons for being optimistic – but some things have got to go right.
“The vaccine programme has got to continue to be successful”.
“We have got to make sure we don’t get thrown off course by new variants, we have got to make sure that we continue to keep the disease under control and the level of infections come down.”
He added that once he gives more details in the last week of February “people should certainly be able to plan on that basis”.
His comments come after Health Secretary Matt Hancock predicted “a happy and free Great British summer”.
Lockdown measures working
Mr Johnson said there were signs the lockdown measures were working but it was too early to “take your foot off the throat of the beast” by easing restrictions.
“We are starting to see some signs of a flattening and maybe even a falling off of infection rates and hospitalisations,” he said.
“But don’t forget that they are still at a very high level by comparison with most points in the last 12 months, a really very high level.”
International travel tightened
Rules around international travel were tightened last month.
It means all travellers must self-isolate for 10 days when they return to the UK.
While people returning to England from high-risk countries will have to quarantine in government-provided hotels.
Declaration on why people need to travel
Some UK holiday providers have since reported a boom in domestic bookings for this summer.
The boss of Ryanair, Michael O’Leary, said he is expecting “a strong return” for European beach holidays this summer thanks to the vaccination programme.
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Source: BBC News
