UK protects borders: banned English vacations abroad, fined £ 5,000 for those who attempt to do so

The United Kingdom will impose 5,000 pounds fines ($ 6,900) to those attempting to travel abroad from England before the end of June, in tighter border controls in the country.

UK Health Minister Matt Hancock said the move was made by the rising third wave in parts of Europe and the new variants. “It is very important that we protect the progress that we have been able to make here in the UK,” he said in statements to Sky News.

The new legislation, which will be voted on this Thursday and will enter into force from Monday, establishes that no one may ‘leave England for a destination outside the UK, or travel or be present at a point of embarkation for the purpose of traveling from there to a destination outside the UK’ ‘without a reasonable excuse..

Traveling abroad for vacation was already banned, but there was no penalty for non-compliance. There is a £ 200 penalty for those who fail to complete the Travel Declaration Form, which includes personal details and the reason for travel.

Allowed exceptions for trips abroad, it involves transfers of work, studies, legal, electoral, moving, real estate transactions, childcare or visiting a loved one to agony, among others.

Following the news, shares of travel-related securities such as easyJet, IAG, Jet2 and TUI fell 3-4% at the start of trading on Tuesday.

Hancock explained that the government continues with plans to review international travel in April and possibly allow it from May 17, but that fines have been included in the legislation in case this is not possible. If there are no changes, the ban would last until the end of June. It is “too early to say” what the task force will decide on vacation abroad, he added, due to the recent increase in COVID infections across Europe.

The new rules will also make demonstrations a permitted exception to the ban on mass gatherings.

Authorities reported on Saturday that half of the UK’s adult population, the country with the most deaths in Europe from the pandemic, had already received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.

Containment anniversary

Britain commemorates the anniversary of the first lockdown on Tuesday with a “National Day of Reflection”, during which Parliament observed a minute of silence in honor of the 126,000 dead. A year ago, Tory Leader Boris Johnson ordered an initial three-week lockdown – which ultimately lasted three months – in which schools and all “non-essential” businesses were closed and gatherings of more than two people were banned.

Johnson vowed the first lockdown would make a difference, but the country had to reconfigure again for four weeks in November – although schools remained open – and again after Christmas, in a third blackout that began to increase quite slightly on March 8. .

The executive is now betting that its mass vaccination campaign, which has already reached 28 million people, will gradually lift all restrictions until June 21.

(With information from Reuters and AFP)

KEEP READING: