500,000 Brits facing scramble to get home
With France set to be added to quarantine list ‘in days’...
HOLIDAYMAKERS are facing chaos and uncertainty amid fears France, Holland, Switzerland, Poland and Malta could be added to the quarantine list within days.
Amid an alarming surge in coronavirus cases on the continent, Boris Johnson warned yesterday that ministers will ‘not hesitate’ to reintroduce quarantine ‘very rapidly’ if infections continue to rise.
There are already fears that France – where 500,000 Britons are currently on holiday – could be re-added if infections continue to increase over the next two days. The scenario could trigger a frantic rush of passengers desperate to return home.
And last night an industry expert warned it may be the case that fresh restrictions are imposed on Holland, Switzerland, Poland and Malta, where case numbers are rising. All returning passengers would have to self-isolate for 14 days.
Airline bosses last night dismissed the reports as ‘overegged’ speculation, but ministers have not ruled out new restraints, insisting it is too early to make a decision that would have a significant impact on holidaymakers and the travel industry. An extension of quarantine across Europe would effectively signal the death knell for foreign holidays this summer, heaping fresh misery on airlines and tour operators.
In a potential scramble to return home before any new rulings come into force, holidaymakers would likely be given at least 30 hours’ notice before the measures kick in.
Ministers are said to be giving careful thought to the decision to blacklist France due to heightened diplomatic tensions with the Channel migrant crisis.
There are said to be further concerns for the capacity of Eurotunnel and ferry operators to deal with a sudden rush of travellers returning home. Ministers insist no decisions have been made and an announcement is not expected imminently.
But in a sign of concern over the spike in infections, Whitehall sources last night said travellers should be prepared to expect the worst and warned: ‘No holiday is necessarily guaranteed.’
An official announcement could come on Thursday night, after ministers are presented with the latest data in their weekly review of the quarantine list.
Officials say it is impossible to predict whether the countries will be added to the quarantine list but said they will monitor infection rates over the coming days.
One of the measurements used by Public Health England and the Joint Biosecurity Centre to determine the risk is the number of cases per 100,000 of the population, cumulative over 14 days.
According to industry insiders, any country with a consistent rate of more than 20 cases per 100,000 people, over seven days, is at risk of being added to the quarantine list.
As of Sunday, France has a rate of 26 per 100,000, Poland is 23 and Switzerland 25. Yesterday Malta hit 58.6 cases per 100,000 and Holland 32.5. The rates have been rising steadily over the last week, according to data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
A Whitehall source told the Daily Mail: ‘A lot of it comes down to these infection rates. Obviously, rising cases mean the risk of quarantine is more likely. No decisions have been made and we are waiting to see how things change over the week. What we would say to holidaymakers is that they need to be aware there is a risk of quarantine coming in at any time. No holiday is necessarily guaranteed.’
Speaking on a visit to Essex yesterday, the Prime Minister said ministers will ‘not hesitate’ to impose restrictions.
He said: ‘I don’t want to advise people about their individual holidays, individual decisions, they should look at the travel advice from the Foreign Office clearly.
‘But what I will say, and I hope people would expect us to do this, in the context of a global pandemic, we’ve got to keep looking at the data in all the countries to which British people want to travel.
‘Where it is necessary to impose restrictions or to impose a quarantine system, we will not hesitate to do so.’
‘No holiday is guaranteed’