Coronavirus POLL: Is going abroad selfish as huge debate erupts over summer holidays? VOTE

On July 4, the UK Government released a list of countries where the public may now travel to. The list only includes countries which have brought the virus under control but during a debate on the BBC’s Sunday Morning Live, the panel debated whether it was ethical to travel on holiday while the UK continues to fight the virus. With that in mind, Express.co.uk is asking readers, “Is going abroad this summer selfish?”

Within the list, popular holiday destinations such as Greece, Italy and France have all been included.

Due to this, passengers will not be required to self-isolate upon arrival in the UK or to their holiday destination.

However, countries such as China, the US, Sweden and Portugal all remain at risk and mean quarantine measures are still in place when you return to the UK after visiting.

Crucially, the UK Government has stated global travel is not “risk-free”.

Due to this part of the guidance, co-host of the BBC’s show, Sally Phillips asked travel expert, Simon Calder if travelling during the pandemic could be considered as selfish.

Considering the UK’s high death total which at the time of writing stands 44,198, the expert claimed it is the decision of the traveller.

He argued: “The tourism industry is force for good.

“It enriches us and we need that but it enriches host communities.

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Although she did state Scotland would likely agree to relax restrictions for those arriving from low-risk countries, she also criticised the speed at which Westminster had made the decision.

She said on Friday: “When so much is at stake as it is right now we can’t allow ourselves to be dragged along in the wake of, to be quite frank about it, another government’s shambolic decision process.

“We want to welcome visitors again from around the world and we also want to allow our own citizens to travel.

“We also want, if possible for obvious practical reasons, to have alignment on these matters with the rest of the UK.

“She said she hoped a decision could be made ‘quickly’.”

With England and Scotland taking a different approach to travel, businesses said there could be future job losses.

The Scottish Chambers of Commerce called on Ms Sturgeon to align in a UK-wide approach to protect the economy.

The business organisation said: “Politics must be put to one side by all in order to give Scottish businesses the ability to drive up demand and do what they do best, making Scotland the best place to invest and do business.”