UK worried about second wave in Europe, won't hesitate to act on quarantine

"I am worried about a second wave. I think you can see a second wave starting to roll across Europe, and we've got to do everything we can to prevent it from reaching these shores, and to tackle it," Hancock said during an interview on Sky News.

"We have significant concerns about the second wave that is coming across Europe. And it's not just Spain ... but there are other countries too where the number of cases is rising. And we are absolutely determined to do everything that we can to keep this country safe," he said.

Britain re-imposed a 14-day quarantine period on people arriving from Spain last week.

Other European countries favoured by British tourists for summer holidays, such as France, remain exempt from quarantine measures as things stand but have seen a rise in infections, leading to fears that they too would soon be subject to quarantine measures.