UK lockdown: What are the new travel rules?

As coronavirus case rates and deaths continue to decline in the UK following stringent lockdown measures and a rapid vaccine rollout, the prime minister has announced his “roadmap” for how restrictions will be gradually eased this summer.

The reopening depends on four tests: that the vaccination rollout continues at pace; evidence showing that vaccines are effective; that infection rates do not cause increased hospitalisations; and that the assessment of the risks is not changed by new variants.

Boris Johnson set out the full plan to parliament on Monday 22 February, including key dates for travel.

The first key date for travel is 29 March, when the “stay at home” message is likely to be scrapped in favour of “stay local”. It remains to be seen what constitutes “local”: does travelling 20 miles to a country park, or 50 miles to a beach, count as local? As well as daytrips coming a step closer, from this date up to six people or two households will also be able to meet outdoors.

The Welsh first minister told BBC Breakfast on 19 February that he was working with the Tourism Task Force in Wales in a bid to enable limited tourism by Easter – which this year is the weekend of 2-5 April.

“What we will work on with them is the possibility – and it is only that – of some limited reopening around Easter of self-contained accommodation only. Places where people don’t mix with other people, where there aren’t shared facilities,” said Mark Drakeford. “That is how we began the reopening of tourism in Wales.”

In England, trips to self-contained accommodation can restart from 12 April, for one household.

It’s understood that this will include second homes, holiday homes and campsites and caravan parks where there are no shared indoor facilities.

Some holiday parks are looking to open from this time too, with restrictions in place. For example, Center Parcs has announced that it plans to have all five sites open from 12 April.

Restrictions will be in place however, with a limit of one household per lodge, restaurants only available for delivery service, and the continued closure of hotels and apartments on site.

Most outdoor activities will be able to go ahead, according to the brand, but it remains uncertain whether the “Subtropical Swimming Paradise” waterparks will be able to open.

Scotland has laid out its own, separate road map, in which the widescale reopening of the economy is projected to begin in the last week of April, when the country will return to a tiered approach. As part of a phased reopening, some areas of the hospitality industry may be able to restart, though exact dates for domestic travel remain uncertain.

Scotland’s first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, is cautious when it comes to reopening for international travel. She said in an address to Scottish parliament: “Travel restrictions are also essential and are likely to remain so for some time yet.

“We saw over the summer how new cases were imported into Scotland, after the virus had almost been eliminated here. We do not want that to happen again if we can avoid it.”

The more mainstream travel industry in England, which would include hotels, hostels and B&Bs, should be able to restart from 17 May, Mr Johnson announced.

The prime minister signalled that recreational international travel can restart from 17 May at the earliest.

Leisure travel both domestically and internationally has been banned since the start of January. Travel is currently allowed for a tight set of circumstances, including business and for compassionate reasons, and the government has repeatedly warned people that holidays are illegal.

The tentative reopening date follows weeks of speculation from the industry as to when international travel might be allowed again.

In response to the announcement, sun-starved Brits rushed to book summer holidays, with travel companies reporting a surge in interest.

The Global Travel Taskforce will give an update on 12 April about whether international travel will be able to go ahead from 17 May. Either way, there are still many unknowns: will other countries be willing to open their borders? Will they demand travellers be fully vaccinated first? And will there still be testing and quarantine hoops to jump through?

The suggested measure has been backed by the World Health Organisation’s special envoy on Covid-19.

Dr David Nabarro said he believed rapid testing could indeed play a crucial role in reopening nightclubs, theatres and other venues that have been forced to shut down during the pandemic.

“The secret to getting life back to some degree of normality for most of us is going to be the availability of really reliable, super-quick tests,” Dr Nabarro told ITV’s Good Morning Britain.

“That will make movement so, so much easier.”

The WHO special envoy also said that vaccination certificates could also be required for international travel and “activities where you’re actually going into a different jurisdiction”.

However, he said, “for moving around [domestically], it will be rapid tests”.

The vaccines minister suggested the government was aware of the possibility that countries might require certificates proving travellers have been vaccinated.

He said that if that was a requirement, the government wants to “make it as easy as possible” for people to obtain such a document.

Closer to home, Mr Zahawi said that UK cinemas, theatres and other venues will be free to demand proof of Covid-19 vaccination before allowing people to enter, despite the government ruling out a “vaccine passport” scheme of its own.

Mr Zahawi said it was “up to businesses” to determine what rules to introduce.