Tougher border controls are needed to counter 'real risk' of Covid variant from Europe, says top professor

The South African variant is surging on the continent putting the UK's vaccination programme at risk, says Professor Neil Ferguson

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Professor Neil Ferguson

Tougher border controls are required on travel from Europe to protect the UK from the “real risk” of Covid variants that could undermine the UK’s vaccination programme, says leading epidemiologist Professor Neil Ferguson.

The academic from Imperial College who was the Government adviser behind the UK’s first lockdown said ministers should reconsider the number of exemptions to the current travel restrictions from Europe and extend testing to everyone entering the country.

Professor Ferguson said cases of the new South African variant were being detected every week in the UK amid concerns that the AstraZeneca vaccine on which the UK relied was  “particularly vulnerable” to it.

“The key thing is the risk of importing variants which might undermine our vaccination programme,” he said. “The concern here is the proportion of cases in many European countries which are this variant, up to four or five per cent in France, up to 17 to 20 per cent in Luxembourg.

“Rather than red list countries that are far away, where the real policy challenge in mitigating risk is in travel to Europe.”

His warning comes as Boris Johnson is expected on Monday to set out plans for a traffic light system for foreign summer holidays to replace the current ban on all non-essential travel from May 17 at the earliest.

Speaking on BBC Radio Four’s Today programme, Professor Ferguson said it would be sensible to reconsider the exemptions to the travel ban including diplomats and others on Government business as well as hauliers and other specialist workers.

“There is a very long list of exemptions if you are a truck driver or travelling on Government business, then you don’t have to quarantine, you don’t even have to test. I think it would be sensible for everyone to be tested coming in,” he said.

The Government has introduced mass testing for hauliers entering the UK which comes into effect this week but only for those who are planning to spend more than 48 hours in the country.

Asked if vaccinating people could be a route to opening up travel, he said it was not a panacea although it did reduce the chance of being infected “probably even against the South African variant.”

“But it’s really a decision about how much we want to drive down that risk. My own view is that while we have done very well with our vaccination programme, we are only half way through,” he said.

“We are very reliant on the AstraZeneca vaccine and we know that is particularly vulnerable to the South African variant.”

That was why it was important to “keep it out for as long as we can” as levels in the UK were “much, much lower” than in Europe.

He said it would be alarming if reports that up to 40 per cent people coming into the UK - some 20,000 a week - were tourists, as claimed by Border Force staff.

It comes  as foreign holidays could be on the cards to “green list” countries from May 17 although Britons returning from them will have to undergo at least two Covid tests to prove they are clear of the virus.

The Prime Minister will confirm a traffic light system to replace the current blanket ban on non-essential travel from May 17 at the earliest with countries classed red, amber or green.

Green countries will be those with high vaccination rates, low Covid rates, low incidence of variants and the ability to perform genome sequencing to detect new ones.

Holidaymakers will only be able to return if they have a negative test within 72 hours of departure and will also be required to have at least one test after arrival in England.

With much of Europe locked down by a third wave of the pandemic, no more than a dozen countries like Malta, Gibraltar, Israel, the US, United Arab Emirates and Barbados may be open to UK holidaymakers in the first wave - and any wider opening could be delayed into July or August.

Most countries are likely to be “amber” requiring people to have a pre-departure test, quarantine for 10 days at home and have PCR tests on days two and eight, so they can be checked for covid variants. They could still be released from quarantine with a negative test on day five.

Britons returning from red list countries - of which there are currently 39 - will still have to hotel quarantine at a cost of up to £1,750 per person for 11 days with pre-departure tests followed by tests on days two and eight.

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