In a new travel warning for Brits, citizens are being told they could face unexpected 14 day quarantines if they decide to travel abroad.
Downing Street insisted that rules on overseas travel were under “constant review”, raising fears that the holiday plans of millions will be threatened.
The UK government made the decision to remove Spain off the safe countries list on Saturday evening, leaving holidaymakers frustrated that they now have to spend 14 days in self-isolation when they return.
The Foreign Secretary for the UK Government stood by the decision saying that the government “can’t make apologies” for the change, while warning that there may be more to come.
There are fears that more European holidays could be ruined as officials from both France and Germany have warned of possible new lockdowns.
Dominic Raab told Sky News: “As we’ve found with Spain, we can’t give a guarantee,” adding that there was “an element of uncertainty this summer if people go abroad”.
According the Telegraph, parts of Europe, including France and Germany, are bracing for a second wave of Covid-19 infections.
French health authorities said at the weekend that the country’s 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.
Trips to France, Italy and Greece are being cancelled in “large numbers”, according to The Times.
The ruling on Spain is likely to heap further pressure on an already under-strain travel sector, with tour operator Tui cancelling all holidays to mainland Spain until early August.
Close to 1.8 million holidays are likely to have been thrown into chaos by the move, according to travel company PC Agency, which analysed data on flights.
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 self-isolate at home
Liz Samandi, 52, from Leicestershire, is currently on holiday in Spain and is due to return from Majorca on Thursday.
“I just feel a bit angry actually that they’ve done this and not considered the people that are already here,” she told the Manchester News.
“It’s the blanket approach which I think is wrong, it should have been a more targeted area I think.”
At least 11 European countries where quarantine-free travel is possible have suffered Covid-19 increases in recent days, with some reaching higher infection rates than the UK. In the past two weeks, Croatia and Belgium have registered twice as many cases per head as Britain.
Infections have climbed in France, Germany and Austria too.
Tour operators warned of a sharp drop in bookings to short-haul destinations for the rest of the summer as confidence in overseas travel continues to collapse reported The Times UK.
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