Johnson says UK will be ‘ruthless’ over quarantine as French cases spike
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said said Downing Street is prepared to be “ruthless” with countries over quarantine rules, after he was asked whether France would be removed from the government’s safe-travel list.
The UK has imposed a 14-day quarantine period for arrivals from countries such as Spain and Belgium, as infections rates rise and fears mount of a second wave in the UK.
“We’ve got to be absolutely ruthless about this, even with our closest and dearest friends and partners around the world,” Johnson told reporters on a visit to Northern Ireland.
“We will be looking at the data a bit later on this afternoon… looking at exactly where France and other countries are getting to, and you know we can’t be remotely complacent about our own situation.”
France today reported its highest number of new coronavirus infections since lockdown restrictions began, charting 2,524 new cases.
France is the second most-visited country for UK holidaymakers behind Spain, with nearly 13m Brit travelling there in 2017.
The UK on the other hand usually welcomes about 3.5m visitors from France each year. This makes France the second biggest market for tourists coming into the UK, behind the US.