UK Health Minister Says Gov't Doing Everything To Ensure People's Summer Holidays

UK Health Minister Says Gov't Doing Everything to Ensure People's Summer Holidays

UK Health Minister Matt Hancock said on Thursday that the government is doing everything it can to ensure people in the United Kingdom can go on holidays during the summer, but asked the public to be patient and wait for February 22, when prime minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce the roadmap out of the COVID-19 lockdown

LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th February, 2021) UK Health Minister Matt Hancock said on Thursday that the government is doing everything it can to ensure people in the United Kingdom can go on holidays during the summer, but asked the public to be patient and wait for February 22, when prime minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce the roadmap out of the COVID-19 lockdown.

"We are doing everything we can to make sure people can have that holiday in the summer, and, even before then, to be able to see their loved ones," Hancock told Sky news broadcaster.

The health secretary said he understands people's "yearning for certainty," but asked them to be patient and wait for Johnson's announcement in two-weeks' time.

"Thankfully, because the vaccine roll-out is going so well, with now 13 million people vaccinated, ...that will all help us to get out of this and get back to normal," Hancock said.

At a COVID-19 press briefing on Wednesday, Johnson said it was "too early" to say whether people will be allowed to take summer holidays abroad or in the UK, but earlier in the morning his transport minister Grant Shapps had been clearer as he warned that people should not be booking holidays "right now", either domestically or internationally.

The UK has recorded almost four million COVID-19 positive cases and more than 114,000 deaths since the pandemic began.