PEOPLE have been told to be patient when it comes to holidays, with currently Covid rules currently banning travel. 

Matt Hancock said the public will need to be “patient” over the prospect of summer holidays this year, with strict measures coming into force for international arrivals and domestic travel currently banned. 

The Health Secretary said the Government is doing “everything we can” to ensure people can get away for a summer holiday.

Yesterday, Boris Johnson and Transport Secretary Grant Shapps both warned that it was still too soon to start booking holidays for this summer.

Mr Hancock, who has already booked a holiday in Cornwall, said that people wanted certainty over whether it was possible to go away – either in the UK or abroad.

“What we have all been saying is we will do everything we can to make sure that people can have a holiday but these are uncertain times,” he told Sky News.

Speaking to BBC Breakfast earlier, he said: “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.

“We will set out more in more detail when we can, but at the moment unfortunately there is that uncertainty still.”

While the rollout of the vaccine has many people eager to book up, but Mr Johnson also said that people wanting to book a holiday would have to be “a little bit more patient” as it is “too early for people to be certain about what we will be able to do this summer”.

However, there have been mixed messages, with the Prime Minister previously saying he was "optimistic" people will be able to have summer holidays if the vaccine programme goes well. 

The current travel rules allow people to make journeys for essential reasons like shopping, exercise and work.

You are not allowed to stay away from home without a "reasonable excuse", which includes a ban on caravans and second homes. You are, however, allowed to visit your support bubble. 

Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said booking a holiday now is “one hell of a gamble”.

He said this is a fast-moving situation, adding: “We don’t know where we’re going to be, not only in this country in terms of vaccinations, but in terms of spread of troublesome variants and what other countries are going to have been able to do.

“So it really is too early to say. I think if people were to book holidays now, I’d like to do that myself, it would be one hell of a gamble.”

Meanwhile, professor John Edmunds, a member of the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said some measures would remain “probably forever”.

But he told ITV’s Peston: “I think we will be more or less free of this by the end of this year… say Christmas.”

His comments came as he warned against relaxing lockdown restrictions too quickly, and said there was a need to be “very cautious” about foreign travel.

Many accommodations and holiday providers are however offering flexible policies in efforts to increase consumer confidence.

The watchdog the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says it would expect you to be offered a full refund when lockdown restrictions make it illegal to go on a booked holiday, meaning you are unable to receive "services or goods" that you have paid for.

This is also the case if a business cancels your holiday or can't provide the service due to lockdown rules. 

The CMA also suggests if laws in another country prevent a business from providing a service under a contract with a UK consumer, or prevent that consumer from receiving the service, then in most cases you will also be entitled to a refund.

While the watchdog believes you should get your money back, it also says you may be asked to accept vouchers or postpone your trip and stresses that you are entitled to a cash refund. 

Some insurance policies do cover you if you test positive for Covid or have to isolate and can't go on holiday, but not all.