Britons told to avoid all non-essential foreign travel for 30 days during coronavirus crisis

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Britain was grounded today with the Government advising against all non-essential travel abroad as the global battle against coronavirus was ramped up.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced the drastic measure in the Commons this afternoon.

He told MPs: “Based on the fast-changing international circumstances, today I’m announcing changes to Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) travel advice.

“UK travellers abroad now face widespread international border restrictions and lockdowns in various countries.

“The FCO will always consider the safety and security of British nationals.

“So with immediate effect I’ve taken the decision to advise British nationals against non-essential travel globally for an initial period of 30 days.”

Passengers wear face masks at Heathrow airport
Getty Images

He also warned Britons abroad that they risked being stranded by restrictions in other countries.

The FCO is not currently advising British people to immediately return to the UK if they are overseas, except for a few countries detailed in travel advice.

“However, British people should keep in mind that flights may be cancelled at short notice or other travel restrictions may be put in place by foreign governments,” the FCO added.

Mr Raab emphasised that the Government was working to ensure that freight international links are kept open to ensure food and other supplies such as medicines.

Airlines including BA, Easyjet, Ryanair, and Virgin Atlantic are already slashing the number of flights .

The European Commission was planning to ban all non-essential travel throughout Europe’s Schengen free-travel zone which includes Germany, France, Denmark, the Baltic States, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland and Sweden.

Empty Europe during Coronavirus - In pictures

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Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was due to ask EU leaders today to implement the measure as more countries, including France, shut their land borders. “The less travel, the more we can contain the virus,” she said.

Australia advised all its citizens abroad who want to return home to do so immediately because of disruption caused by the coronavirus.

“As more countries close their borders or introduce travel restrictions, overseas travel is becoming more complex and difficult,” the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in updated guidance posted on its website on Tuesday.

“You may not be able to return to Australia when you had planned to.”

In Westminster, ministers are ready to order a “harder” London-specific clampdown soon on socialising to limit deaths from a looming surge in coronavirus cases.

Plans are being drawn up for regional responses to a spiralling Covid-19 epidemic which is already starting in the capital amid fears that hospitals will struggle to cope.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen
AFP via Getty Images

An urgent review of whether to close schools is being carried out. So far the advice has been to avoid such a move, but if it were to happen it is most likely to be imposed in London first.

Italian and French-style lockdowns have also not been ruled out but the Government has so far shied away from taking such draconian, economy-crippling steps.

The outbreak in the UK is now heavily concentrated in London. As of yesterday, 480 out of 1,543 confirmed cases were in the capital, with a further 173 in the South-East.

England’s deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam stressed every citizen in the UK should follow advice on social distancing and self-isolation, not only to protect themselves but to avoid other people being killed by Covid-19. After news footage last night of pub-goers saying they would ignore the guidance, Professor Van-Tam stressed: “We are giving very strong advice to all citizens ... it applies to everybody.”

He said the advisory restrictions — the most stringent in peacetime, modern day Britain — could go on for “months”, with warnings that it could be a year to 18 months before a vaccine is developed. Amid criticism that the Government has been too slow to act, he insisted it had “taken the right step at the right time”, but that now the number of cases was set to “escalate rapidly”.

Dominic Raab made the announcement in the Commons
Sky News

He added: “We will take about one to two weeks to understand what these measures are doing, to begin to slow the rates of infections in the UK.

“We will keep that under really close scrutiny and we have always said that we are prepared to do things harder, we are prepared to do more things if necessary to slow this epidemic down.”

Boris Johnson ordered restrictions to be ramped up last night after scientists warned that a failure to do so could risk 250,000 deaths, with the NHS intensive care capacity being overwhelmed eight-fold. However, concerns still remain over how the NHS will cope even with these new measures.

Asked if London’s hospitals have enough ventilators to cope with expected surge in cases, Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “The short answer is no, that’s one of the reasons why the Government strategy was contain and delay to get us as near as possible to spring and summer to free up capacity in the NHS.” He added advice on school closures could change.

Professor Van-Tam stressed that the advice for whole households to self-isolate even if only one person has Covid-19 symptoms, of a new, continuous cough or high temperature, was “incredibly important” to drive down the epidemic’s curve.

The four elements of social distancing are: reduce non-essential contact with people outside of the family; reduce non-essential travel to an “absolute minimum”; keep away from bars, pubs, restaurants, cinemas, theatres and “all the places where human beings gather and where contacts can take place”; and to the extent possible, work from home.

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