Boris Johnson has warned there are signs of a ‘second wave’ of coronavirus in Europe.
The Prime Minister made the claim after he was questioned on the decision to remove Spain from the UK’s list of safe countries and reintroduce quarantine measures for anyone returning from there.
The Spanish prime minister has labelled the sudden decision ‘unjust’ and an ‘error’. Speaking today, the PM said the UK needed to guard against a resurgence in new infections.
Speaking during a visit to Nottingham, Mr Johnson said: ‘I’m afraid you are starting to see in some places the signs of a second wave of the pandemic.It is really our job, our duty, to act swiftly and decisively to stop travellers coming back from those places seeding the disease here in the UK.’
More than a million Britons are understood to be affected by the decision, with firms TUI and Jet2 cancelling all flights and holidays to mainland Spain, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands until August.
The PM hinted further action could be taken for other countries but said travelling overseas was a matter of personal choice. No 10 was reportedly considering cutting quarantine from 14 days to 10.
Read Also: Boris Johnson: Colonialism In Africa Should Never Have Ended…Britain Not Guilty Of Slavery
Returned travellers would need to quarantine for eight days before being tested, and then only remain in quarantine for another two days should they test negative.
The paper also reports the government was considering instructing everyone who has returned from Spain since July 23 to get tested.
Earlier, Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez described Britain’s quarantine rule as unfair, pointing out travellers were more likely to get infected in the UK than most parts of Spain.
‘In most of Spain, the incidence is very much inferior to even the numbers registered in the United Kingdom,’ he said.
Mr Johnson stressed Britons needed to remain vigilant or the country risked a spike in new cases.
‘The most important thing is for everybody in all communities to heed the advice, to follow the advice, not to be spreading it accidentally and get it right down and we’ll be able to ease the restrictions across the country,’ he said.
Photo Credit: Getty
