Matt Hancock has urged people to be “patient” about the prospect of getting away this summer, despite the health secretary already booking a break in Cornwall.
Hancock said that the rollout of coronavirus vaccines was “absolutely essential” for summer holidays to take place.
“I know that people are yearning for certainty over whether they can have a summer holiday, but pandemics are difficult times and there is a lot of uncertainty, so I am afraid that people will have to be patient before we can get that certainty,” he told BBC Breakfast.
“We are doing everything that we possibly can to make sure that people can have a holiday this summer but the vaccine rollout is absolutely essential to that.
“We will set out more in more detail when we can, but at the moment unfortunately there is that uncertainty still.”
He told Sky: “We are doing everything we can to make sure people can have that holiday in the summer and, even before then, to be able to see their loved ones.
“Even before we get to whether we’re going on holiday or where we’re going on holiday, how soon we can see and hug our loved ones is important.”
He said because take-up of the vaccine was so high, “that will all help us get out of this and help us get back to normal”.
His comments come a day after Boris Johnson warned it was “too early for people to be certain about what we will be able to do this summer”, and transport secretary Grant Shapps claimed “people shouldn’t be booking holidays right now”.
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