What the papers say – April 3

Holiday plans and the pandemic’s long-lasting effects on the NHS are among the stories splashed across the front pages as the weekend begins.

Britons who have had both coronavirus vaccine doses could avoid quarantine measures under Government plans to restart international travel, The Daily Telegraph reports.

The Daily Mirror, however, focuses on travel in the UK as it says “staycation” holiday bookings have received a “massive boost” as lockdown measures are eased.

The relaxing of visiting restrictions across England will see care home residents soon reunited with their families, the Daily Express says.

The head of the NHS in England, Sir Simon Stevens, writes in The Times the UK’s successful vaccination programme will be used as a “blueprint for the future” of the health service.

But Sir Simon’s predecessor Sir David Nicholson has told The Guardian that by the next election patients could face a two-year wait for vital operations due to the backlog of care from the pandemic.

The Only Way Is Essex’s Mark Wright tells The Sun Covid-19 “tore my family apart and it’s not going to be the same again” after his uncle died and six relatives caught the virus.

The Independent reports the Tories’ inquiry into racism within the party was completed up to two months ago but Conservative leaders refuse to say when it will be published.

Staying with the Government and the Daily Mail serialises a new book by Sir Alan Duncan in which Boris Johnson’s former deputy when he was foreign secretary calls the now-Prime Minister a “buffoon” and an “international joke”.

Analysis by the Financial Times shows an independent Scotland “would inherit a large hole in its public finances” due to the pandemic, Brexit and lower than expected tax revenues.

And the Daily Star delivers “flake news” as it reports much of Britain will be coated with snow over a chilly Easter weekend.