Foreign holidays: back on the cards
“It’s competing in a crowded field,” said Kate Proctor in
The Guardian, but the Government’s “air bridges” scheme has established itself as “one of the most chaotic” policies of the entire coronavirus crisis. Brits wanting to book their two weeks in the sun – not to mention many in the UK tourist industry – were eagerly awaiting the list of destinations which, from 10 July, they could visit and return from, without having to self-quarantine for 14 days. The announcement, however, came about a week late, “after days of confusion, buck-passing and zealous over-briefing by officials”. There had been “almighty” rows with the devolved administrations: Mark Drakeford, the Welsh First Minister, described discussions about the travel arrangements as an “utterly shambolic experience”. One Tory backbencher called it an “utter shitshow”. But there it was, finally, last Friday: the list of 73 approved countries and territories from the Department for Transport.
It’s a relief that the UK has reversed its “bizarre” blanket quarantine policy, which was imposed much too late to be useful, said Simon Calder in
The Independent. Even so, the list is, frankly, “baffling”. Spain, France, Italy and Greece have all “made the grade”. Portugal, by contrast, has been excluded – though it has a virus-related death toll 28 times lower than ours. Turkey is in – but Tunisia is out. North America is off limits, understandably; but the Persian Gulf and most parts of Asia that British holidaymakers love are also “on the naughty step”. And putting a country on the UK’s list doesn’t even necessarily mean you can visit it. That we are allowed to return from New Zealand without going into quarantine is of little use when the country is currently shut to UK holidaymakers.
Well, at least this is a welcome step towards a “sensible plan”, said Professor Karol Sikora in the Daily Express. If you come back from Brazil, which is in the midst of a pandemic, you have to go into quarantine; if you return from Germany, you don’t. Perhaps the thinking behind it is rather more political and less scientific than it might be. But, frankly, millions of Britons won’t care. “Just a few months ago, a summer holiday seemed like a fading dream.”