UK's Rishi Sunak urges Boris Johnson to relax Covid travel restrictions
Story highlights
Rishi Sunak has reportedly called UK’s entry and exit rules to be 'out of step with our international competitors', and has stressed that these rules have particularly negatively impacted the hospitality and travel sectors
The UK has been following strict travel restrictions due to the recent surge in coronavirus cases, especially from the Delta variant. However, the country might be looking to reopen its international borders completely very soon.
As the UK’s travel industry suffered a loss, the country’s Finance Minister, Rishi Sunak, has written to the Prime Minister that the current border rules are doing massive damage to the country’s economy.
Sunak has reportedly called UK’s entry and exit rules to be "out of step with our international competitors", and has stressed that these rules have particularly negatively impacted the hospitality and travel sectors.
These reports have hit the media a week before the two ministers are scheduled to meet to discuss travel restrictions and rules for August.
The UK has been observing a surge in coronavirus cases, related to the Delta variant, in recent weeks, due to which the government has placed strict travel regulations, especially for travellers coming from the Delta variant-dominant areas.
Sunak’s request has also come ahead of the holiday season. He has, reportedly, stated that the country’s success of the vaccine programme should be directly proportional to the weakening of travel restrictions.
In the past few weeks, international governments have criticised Boris Johnson-led government’s decision to restrict travel. UK had claimed that the travel restriction of France locals in the UK was due to the "prevalence of the so-called Beta variant, in particular in the Reunion bit of France". A French minister, however, described these measures to be "excessive" and "discriminatory".