The health secretary told the Commons on Wednesday (8 December) that if the Omicron variant of Covid-19, "as is expected", becomes the dominant strain of Covid, "there will be less need to have any kind of travel restrictions at all".
Javid’s comments came in response to a question tabled by Birmingham Hall Green MP Tahir Ali in a Commons debate that coincided with a briefing hosted by prime minister Boris Johnson setting out the government’s Covid "Plan B".
New rules include a wider face-mask mandate that will extend to more public settings, including theatres and cinemas, and advice urging people to work from home where possible.
However, Javid downplayed the likelihood of any fresh sector-specific support for travel, stating the best way to support the sector at this time would be to remove the recently reimposed restrictions on travel.
These include the reintroduction of Day 2 PCR testing and of pre-departure testing.
Ali asked Javid what advice had for his constituents hoping to visit loved ones overseas, and asked him to be clear and open on any further restrictions.
Javid said the travel curbs announced over the past two weeks were an attempt to "buy time" and "slow any incursion" of the Omicron variant, and warned it was "just not possible" to give guarantees on there not being any additional future measures.
He did, though, add: "One thing I would say is that very soon, in the days and weeks that lie ahead, if, as I think is likely, we see many more infections and this variant becomes the dominant variant, there will be less need to have any kind of travel restrictions at all."
Exeter MP Ben Bradshaw echoed Tahir’s comments. "Given that Omicron is now spreading rapidly here, what is the point in maintaining his damaging travel restrictions a day longer?" he said.
‘Confidence dented’
Crawley MP Henry Smith, whose constituency includes Gatwick, said the new restrictions had "serious dented" people’s confidence in being able to travel and was having a direct impact on jobs in an industry that is "already on its knees", despite recent signs of recovery for both aviation and travel while restrictions have been stable and minimal.
"What discussions have been had in government about reintroducing support packages for critical sectors of the UK economy, without which we will not have the economic recovery to be able to pay for the public services we need?" Smith asked Javid.
The health secretary replied: "I am sure my honourable friend will agree that the best support we could provide for the transport sector right now is to remove these recent restrictions. I am confident that, as we learn more about this variant and if, as is expected, over time it becomes the dominant variant, we can start removing those restrictions very quickly."
