THE latest travel restrictions are likely to remain in place for a “very long time,” according to a medical advisor.
Sir Jeremy Farrah, a a member of the Government’s SAGE, warned that the UK vaccination programme alone was not enough, as its needs to be a global vaccination to allow travellers to go abroad once again.
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He also implied that they need to be “comprehensive” meaning that the current quarantine hotel scheme which affects just 30 countries may not be enough.
He said on BBC’s Today Programme: “Travel restrictions can buy you time, but they do need to be comprehensive and they wont prevent variants arriving.
“They have to be very smart and comprehensive and go on a very long time.
“Look at what Australia and new Zealand are going through with their travel restrictions.”
The UK has issued 10.5 vaccination doses per 100 people – much further ahead than Spain (2.49), France (1.51) and Greece (1.51).
He also said that we need to “learn lessons from 2020,” explaining that if we had imposed restrictions in January and February on high-risk countries, this would have likely been China.
He explained: “But almost all the viruses arriving in the UK in January, February and March came from Europe.”
Michael Gove also warned: “People shouldn’t expect premature lifting of these restrictions.”
In response to Michael Gove, who also said he didn’t “attempt to see in the future” regarding the restrictions, Sir Farrah said on Twitter: “For any travel restrictions to work need to be comprehensive & in place for a long time.
“Work best when transmission is very low here & much higher elsewhere. They might buy you time they do not ultimately prevent spread unless you use that time to change fundamentals of infection.”
He also offered some hope that they wouldn’t be in place all year, saying he didn’t think it would “be necessary” but will need to get vaccines “to the world” first.
Michael Gove agreed, adding: “As we proceed with our vaccination programme, and others proceed with theirs, there’s light at the end of the tunnel.”
The new quarantine hotel scheme was announced last night, which will require all arrivals from 30 high risk countries to self-isolate for 10 days at a government-approved hotel.
