Brits should not book summer holidays because there is no end in sight to the lockdown, the Government has suggested.
Downing Street said it is “not able to say with certainty” at which point social distancing measures will ease as the UK continues to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
It comes after Dominic Raab, who is deputising for recovering Prime Minister Boris Johnson, extended the lockdown by "at least" three weeks to May 7, adding: “We need to be patient a while longer”.
Transport Secretary Grant Schapps said earlier that he would be holding off on booking a summer holiday due to the crisis.
Asked by journalists at a briefing on Friday lunchtime whether the public should follow suit, a Number 10 spokesman said: “While we are making progress in our fight against coronavirus, we are not able to say with certainty the point at which the social distancing measures can be relaxed.
“[...] In terms of travel abroad, the advice of the Foreign Office continues to be that you should go abroad for essential travel only.
“As of today, it is a fact that both the guidelines and the official Foreign Office advice do not allow for people going on holidays.”
Earlier this month the Foreign Office upgraded its travel advice to warn against travelling anywhere abroad indefinitely.
It has scuppered holiday plans for thousands of passengers, with easyJet and Jet2 among the airlines to ground all flights.
Industry representatives have called for more certainty from the Government on how travellers’ and airlines' finances will be protected as pressure mounts on ministers to deliver an ‘exit strategy’ from the restrictions.
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Mr Raab told the nation at the daily press briefing on Thursday: "We've come too far, we've lost too many loved ones to ease up now, especially when we're beginning to see that our efforts are starting to pay off.
“There is light at the end of the tunnel but we are now at both a delicate and a dangerous stage in this pandemic.
“If we rush to relax the measures that we have in place we would risk wasting all the sacrifices and all the progress that has been made."
