Germany could lift travel restrictions on British travellers who have had both their Covid jabs in “a foreseeable future”, Angela Merkel has said.
Speaking on a visit to the UK the chancellor declined to immediately lift controls and pointed out that the UK had also imposed rules of its own on German travellers.
Meanwhile, cases of the Delta variant of coronavirus in the UK have risen almost four-fold in less than a month, new data shows.
On Friday, Public Health England (PHE) reported a total of 161,981 confirmed and probable cases of the Covid-19 Delta variant have now been identified in the UK - up by 50,824, or 46 per cent, on the previous week.
The increase in case numbers comes as the government has been reportedly discussing the possibility of reintroducing masks and social distancing for the winter.
Downing Street has publicly stated its hope that 19 July, when all measures are set to be lifted, will be the start of an “exciting new journey” for the UK.
But The Independent understands that government officials have been discussing the possibility of reintroducing baseline Covid restrictions for the winter in the eventuality of a significant wave of cases.
