Businesses have been left in limbo by illogical contact-tracing rules

SIR – I am currently holidaying in Padstow in Cornwall.

The town is busy and those restaurants that haven’t been booked up since February have long queues, as demand far exceeds capacity in our socially distanced world.

Just before we arrived, one large pub and restaurant had been forced to close temporarily due to contact tracing. Another was shut abruptly on Wednesday. The rest must be wondering if they will be next.

This is tragic for the owners and staff, and bitterly disappointing for tourists, who are left wandering from eatery to eatery being turned away because places are full.

Is this lockdown by stealth? The Government may be heralding the grand reopening on July 19, but at this rate there won’t be anything open. Stephanie Chessell

Sevenoaks, Kent

SIR – Dr Jenny Harries, head of the UK Health Security Agency, has confirmed that the £22-£37 billion invested in test and trace has identified around 500,000 people. This equates to a successful “trace cost” of between £44,000 and £74,000 per person.

When is someone in the Treasury going to demand that Boris Johnson stops throwing good money after bad? Kim Potter

Lambourn, Berkshire

SIR – Our daughter is resident in the UK and is getting married on August 7.

My husband and I, plus our daughter and son, all live in France, and we will all have been doublejabbed for more than 14 days before we return to Britain for the wedding.

However, we will still face having to quarantine for 10 days on arrival in the UK, with tests on days two and eight – plus an extra test on day five to end quarantine earlier.

Apart from the hassle, the cost is ludicrous – and all this just because we’re not British residents and haven’t been vaccinated in Britain. Meanwhile, the Government is waiving quarantine for 1,000 Italian football fans and 2,500 Uefa officials. Our only hope is that France will be moved on to the green list when it is reviewed in the coming week. I sincerely hope that the Government sees sense.

Victoria Hill

Saint Prest, Eure-et-Loir, France

SIR – From July 19, those who have been double-vaccinated in Britain, and those who are under 18, will be exempt from quarantine after travelling from amber-list countries.

Once again, many young people are being unfairly penalised. I volunteer at a vaccination centre, so know that very few 18-to-24-year-olds have been allowed to get two jabs.

In our family, five of us can return from Greece without quarantining – four of us because we are doublejabbed, one because she is under 18. Yet our 18-year-old, single-jabbed, is apparently a risk, even though he will be going where we go and doing what we do. How does this make sense? Lucie Patrick