Health minister Edward Argar said he was likely to be staying in the UK this summer and that there remained a risk of importing Covid-19 variants through international holidays.
Speaking to BBC Breakfast, Mr Argar said the Prime Minister would be trying to give “as much foresight and as few surprises as possible” about the possibility of international travel this year during his press conference on Monday.
Pressed on whether Europe was likely to be on the “caution list” of destinations due to a surge in cases, the minister replied: “We are seeing many of our friends in Europe seeing an increase in infections.
“That is one of the reasons why we have to be very careful that as we see an increase across the world in infections that we get this right because one of the things we don’t want to see – and just as the vaccination programme is working so well – is getting new variants or risking new variants getting imported into this country.
“But, although tempting as it is, I’m not going to pre-empt which countries might be in which categories or what the Prime Minister might say.”
Mr Argar told Sky News he understood people’s “desire to get away on holiday” after the events of the past year but said he expected he would spend his own break “at home in sunny Leicestershire”.
The PM is set to outline the Government’s approach for lifting restrictions on holidays abroad from May 17 at a press conference later today.
