UK News Warning of holiday ‘uncertainty’ as fears grow of second Covid wave

© Emilio Morenatti There are fears further holiday destinations could see quarantine restrictions reimposed after the Government changed the advice for Spain on Saturday (Emilio Morenatti/AP)

There are fears more European holidays could be thrown into disarray during “uncertainty” this summer after holidaymakers in Spain were left fuming at being told they must quarantine when they return home.

The Government has stood by its decision to strike Spain off the UK’s list of safe destinations after it saw a spike in the number of coronavirus cases.

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There are fears more European holidays could be thrown into disarray during “ uncertainty ” this summer after UK holidaymakers in Spain were left There are fears further holiday destinations could see quarantine restrictions reimposed after the UK Government changed the advice for Spain on

Warning of holiday ‘ uncertainty ’ as fears grow of second coronavirus wave . "The long-term decline to zero cases of Covid -19 will always see bumps in their graphs within the downward trend. "It is up to all of these countries to ensure that these are only 'spikes' and not a ' second wave '," he said.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the Government “can’t make apologies” for the decision made on Saturday – announced less than five hours before coming into force – that arrivals from Spain and its islands would have to self-isolate for 14 days.

Mr Raab, speaking to Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme, also refused to rule out rescinding further so-called travel corridors.

“As we’ve found with Spain, we can’t give a guarantee,” he said, before adding that there was “an element of uncertainty this summer if people go abroad”.

The Telegraph reported that officials in both France and Germany have warned of possible new lockdowns as parts of Europe braced for a second wave of Covid-19 infections.

French health authorities said at the weekend that the country’s R-rate was up to 1.3 and that daily new infections on Friday had risen to 1,130 – indicators resembling those seen in May, when France was coming out of its strict two-month lockdown.

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The decision to reimpose restrictions on Spain left holidaymakers frustrated, with some saying they would not have travelled if they knew they would have to spend a fortnight self-isolating afterwards.

Close to 1.8 million holidays were likely to have been thrown into chaos by the move, according to travel company The PC Agency, which analysed the number of seats booked on flights leaving the UK for Spain between July 26 and August 31.

According to The Times, trips to France, Italy and Greece were being cancelled in “large numbers” following the ruling by ministers on Spain, a development likely to heap further pressure on an already under-strain travel sector.

Tour operator Tui said that, due to the change in the Government’s travel advice, it was cancelling all holidays to mainland Spain up to and including August 9.

Labour shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth criticised the Government’s handling of the affair, labelling it “frankly shambolic”, and called for financial support for those now forced to shut themselves away after their arrival home.

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The fear is that Covid -19 could return as a second wave in the fall (with peaks in November and December) that coincides with influenza season. A second wave during flu season could potentially overwhelm the healthcare system, "and we have a big problem," Dr. Marybeth Sexton, an assistant

Liz Samandi, 52, a business owner from Market Harborough, Leicestershire, is one of thousands of Brits currently on a family break in Spain and is due to return from Majorca on Thursday.

© Provided by PA Media A passenger arrives at Gatwick Airport, following the Government’s quarantine ruling on Spain (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

She told PA news agency: “I just feel a bit angry actually that they’ve done this and not considered the people that are already here.

“It’s the blanket approach which I think is wrong, it should have been a more targeted area I think.”

Jill Witte, 53, arriving at Gatwick Airport on Sunday with her two daughters and husband, said: “We were shocked, it didn’t look like that was coming, otherwise we wouldn’t have gone.”

It was not just the public who were caught out by the sudden announcement.

The quick turnaround on the decision meant Transport Secretary Grant Shapps, who is currently in Spain for his summer break, will join thousands of others in being forced to isolate for two weeks on his return to Britain.

Paul Scully, minister for London, will also have to quarantine after declaring on social media that he was on holiday in Playa Dorada, Lanzarote.

Tui cancels all flights to Spain and Canary Islands

Airline and holiday company Tui has suspended all flights from Spain and the Canary Islands scheduled to leave on Sunday. © Getty Andrew Flintham, managing director of Tui UK and Ireland, said the company would contact customers to arrange refunds or rebookings Andrew Flintham, managing director of Tui UK and Ireland, made the announcement on Saturday evening just hours before new rules came into force for UK travellers.It comes after the government added Spain and the islands to the list of at-risk countries during the coronavirus pandemic.

Following the unexpectedly rapid rise in Spain's #coronavirus cases, I held a video call with UK airlines + our Ambassador @HughElliottUK today in order to ensure close coordination to help UK nationals return from Spain. We will all need to quarantine for 14 days on arrival.

— Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP (@grantshapps) July 26, 2020

Spanish ministers revealed they were in talks with the UK about exempting the Canary and Balearic islands, which include Ibiza and Majorca, from the requirement to self-isolate for two weeks due to lower infection rates in those regions.

The Foreign Office guidance advising against all but essential travel to mainland Spain does not include the islands but ministers opted to apply blanket quarantine arrangements across the Spanish territories.

Foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya argued Spain had coronavirus outbreaks “perfectly controlled” after the European country recorded more than 900 fresh daily Covid-19 cases for two days running before Saturday’s travel corridor suspension.

Ms Gonzalez Laya told reporters: “Spain is a safe country for tourists and Spaniards.

“Like in any other European country we are seeing outbreaks – the outbreaks in Spain are perfectly controlled.”

Video: Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab defends the new rules requiring passengers arriving in the UK from Spain to quarantine for 14 days (Birmingham Mail)

UK travel ban on Spain strikes new blow to tourism industry

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s effective ban on travel to Spain following an upswing in coronavirus cases in that country’s northeast on Tuesday hammered home the lack of a comprehensive, continent-wide approach to suppressing the virus and giving hard-hit, tourism-reliant economies a chance to rebound. The U.K. government’s recommendation against all but essential travel to the whole of Spain means that all travelers arriving in Britain from that country will have to undergo a 14-day quarantine.