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Boris Johnson has defended the use of PCR Covid tests for travellers returning to the UK following growing criticism from Tory MPs and the travel industry over the cost of the measure.
The prime minister insisted on Thursday that testing was the “sensible thing to do” as he appealed for patience from the public on the issue of disrupted travel this summer.
“You’ve got a balance our very strong desire to get people travelling with the need to protect us against new variants,” Mr Johnson told reporters.
It came as the number of confirmed daily Covid cases rose by 30,215, with a further 86 deaths within 28 days of testing positive for the virus, according to official figures.
Separate figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) also revealed that an estimated 380,000 people in the UK have experienced long Covid for at least a year, including tens of thousands of children.
