Coronavirus has officially been named by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as a global pandemic. In a bid to slow the spread of the virus many countries are now implementing travel bans to certain parts of the world. However, the UK government has announced it will not be following this protocol. Instead, it will continue to allow its citizens to fly in and out of the country.
In recent weeks numerous airports have been testing for the virus with temperature gauges, but this is said to be useless.
Sir Vallance continued: “The other thing is the screening measures on airports sort of sounded sensible but we know that the first case in the US went through the screening measure.
“The first person wasn’t detected and then popped up, so these things sound great but don’t always work.”
The news came as US President Donald Trump announced that he would be banning travel between the US and Europe, with the exception of the UK.
“The new rules will go into effect Friday at midnight.”
The travel restrictions do not currently apply to the UK and a number of other European countries including Ireland, Croatia, Romania and Bulgaria.
The UK government has ensured that it will continue to evaluate the developing situation and will make any amendments as necessary.
Britons are still able to travel at present, though some travel insurers are temporally amending their policies.
This means they may not provide coverage for coronavirus related issues.
Salman Haqqi, a personal finance expert at money.co.uk, said: “The coronavirus pandemic has caused a flood of people trying to cancel trips. While many airlines are not charging cancellation fees on flights that have been grounded, some holidaymakers might find that they can’t get refunds — even if they paid for travel insurance.
“The British Insurers Brokers Association has advised that some policies may actually exclude any cover for pandemic situations.
“Many travel companies won’t refund holidaymakers who cancel trips because they are worried about contracting a virus. However, some policies do include cover for travel disruption and cancellations due to government restrictions. Check that your policy covers you for cancellations due to epidemic or pandemic restrictions.”
