Oh dear oh dear oh dear. I know several people who have boasted proudly that they have had their vaccine and have booked holidays. They’ve done their bit and they’re free. But wait a minute….
Foreign holidays will be ILLEGAL from Monday: New Covid laws mean £5,000 fines for anyone leaving the UK without ‘reasonable excuse’
The law says no-one may ‘leave England to travel to a destination outside the United Kingdom, or travel to, or be present at, an embarkation point for the purpose of travelling from there to a destination outside the United Kingdom’ without a reasonable excuse.
It suggests anyone who breaks such rules could face a £5,000 fine. There is also a £200 fixed penalty notice for failing to fill in a travel declaration form – giving person details and reason for travel – for those planning to leave the UK.
The need for the restrictions must be reviewed by April 12, and at least once every 35 days thereafter, the legal papers say. The laws expire on June 30, unless they are scrapped or amended in the meantime.
Health officials are increasingly concerned by a surge in cases of the South African Covid variant across the Channel. A minister even suggested the whole of the continent could be put on the red list because of botched vaccine rollouts.