MATT Hancock has blasted influencers for jetting off on holiday to party during the coronavirus lockdown.
The Health Secretary slammed people breaking travel bans for “parties in Paris” and “weekends in Dubai” while the Government continued to urge people to stay at home.
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Speaking on the BBC this morning, Mr Hancock said: “International travel, right now, should not be happening unless it’s absolutely necessary.
“No parties in Paris or weekends in Dubai.
“That is not on and in most cases, it’s against the law.”
The Health Secretary added that a “medical emergency” was one of the exemptions for travelling abroad – before noting that “you’ve got the best medical services you can possibly have in the world right here in Britain.”
Government guidelines for international travel state: “Under current UK COVID-19 restrictions, you must stay at home.
“You must not leave home or travel, including internationally, unless you have a legally permitted reason to do so.”
This comes as ministers are expected to discuss enforcing stricter rules for travellers, including imposing quarantine hotels for people arriving into the UK.
Matt Hancock also revealed this morning that Britain has 77 cases of the deadly South African mutant Covid strain.
A series of high-profile influencers have faced backlash in recent weeks for travelling abroad during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic – and some seemingly flouting former Tier 4 restrictions in order to do so.
It’s been revealed that some of the Love Island stars who jetted off to Dubai have lost fans and followers online.
They include Laura Anderson, 31, Anton Danyluk, 25, and 27-year-old Kaz Crossley.
Between them, the three have been unfollowed by 33,000 people on Instagram.
Series four runner-up Laura, recently sparked fury by moaning it was “really hard” being an influencer while in sun-drenched Dubai.
She lost 12,000 followers but 2019 contestant Anton shed 14,000.
He was among stars who tried to justify being in the United Arab Emirates hotspot by posting a snap of the skyline saying “love my office view”.