People can now think about summer vacations, UK minister says

FILE PHOTO: Britain’s Transport Secretary Grant Shapps speaks during a virtual news conference, after a COBRA meeting that was called in response to increased travel restrictions amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, at 10 Downing Street, in London, Britain, December 21, 2020. Tolga Akmen/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

LONDON — The British public can now think about booking summer vacations abroad but there were still risks, transport minister Grant Shapps said on Friday after the government unveiled details of its new traffic light system for travel.

“I’m not telling people that they shouldn’t book some holidays now, it’s the first time I’ve been able to say that for many months, I think everybody doing it understands there are risks with coronavirus,” Shapps told Sky News.

“For the first time, people can start to think about visiting loved ones abroad, or perhaps a summer holiday, but we’re doing it very, very cautiously because we don’t want to see any return of coronavirus in this country.”