New guidance re overseas travel
Comments
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Of course now that Germany and France have put in place either bans or insist on stringent quarantine for visitors from the UK yet they don't seem to have any problem with UK holidaymakers mixing with their countryfolk in Portugal and possibly Spain.
Isn't really logical is it?
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No it isnt, but people who have had 2 jabs are walking/traveling/mixing as though they are totally immune to Covid, my daughter who teaches in a large comprehensive in Sutton has had covid twice, second time a few weeks ago after having 2 jabs, if it had not been for the tests they do as part of their routine every 2 days she would not have known second time around as no symptoms.
guidance is not being driven by the science just now, but by the financial implications, particularly in Spain & to a certain extent Portugal.0 -
Those figures are for Murcia only the actual figures for Spain are above 9 million for both doses and 8 million with single dose this is where they get the 50% from.
I am 66 and my age group and above have had both doses with three week between each dose just last week and they are vaccinating people in their fifties this week and contacting the forties for the week after next.
They expect to have vaccinated 70% of the population by July and from what i have seen on the ground it seems quite possible this will have happened, the big difference between UK and Spain is that the Spanish waited two months to stockpile vaccines so they can give two doses straight away to everyone. While i agree some people who had the AZ vaccine have had to wait for the second jab they have decided to give these people Pfizer as the second after some trials and these people are a small minority compared with he rest of the country. From a travel point of view i think from August Spain will be back to as near normal what ever that is. Feliz Fin de semana
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Have ti say i had my doubts but everything the PM here as said is coming true and they are really cracking on with the vaccination programme in my locality there are three big sports centres which are open 12 hours a day and hopefully the target of 70% will be met.
I live in Valenciana where the infection rate is 32 per 100,000 which they say is one of the best in the world (govt speak for we are doing ok
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"Those figures are for Murcia only the actual figures for Spain are above 9 million for both doses and 8 million with single dose this is where they get the 50% from"
yes, my daughter always give us Murcia updates, she can never understand why they come under Valencia living in Villa Martin 263k to Valencia and 64k to Murcia, her second jab (end of March first jab) has been cxld, she had the AZ but has been told that second will probably be the pfizer but no date yet given.
"From a travel point of view i think from August Spain will be back to as near normal what ever that is. "
you could be right, daughter hoping to come home end of June for a couple of weeks (flying), and then a road trip via tunnel August. June not looking good and Easy Jet have announced today that they are cxling lots of flights into Spain during June as a result of the India variant which we all now have, and the Thai, and not doubt more to come.
Looking to do a fly out October for 2-3 weeks, fingers crossed
fin de semana festivo y el sol brillia increible
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Just been listening to speculation on ITV news that many popular destinations will miss being added to the "green list", not because of any fear or possiblity of infection but because Border Control staff may become overwhelmed by the numbers returning home!
You couldn't make it up really! (Well a certain former senior advisor to the PM probably could!
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According to a spokesman (admittedly from the travel industry) the government have been told about this potential problem over and over again but, apparently not acted to solve it.
Being cynical (what, me?
) it does occur to me that they are making overseas travel so difficult that folk are forced to holiday at home so that they will be able to claim how well the economy is doing despite B****t! 0 -
There’s certainly some money making going on.... just preparing for my return to the UK next Tuesday having undertaken 2 tests so far (day 1 & day 5). UK entry requirement is for a test within 72 hours of departure which overlaps nicely with day 5 test. So, using the day 5 negative test result seems obvious and reasonable you’d have thought?
Not a chance - repeat test within 24 hours and £60 for the trouble or don’t get on the plane. Beyond that there’s another test within 48 hours and a further £100 to some parasitic testing organisation HM Govt has got into bed with - and they’re one of the cheaper ones.
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Could be worse,Bill. My son is going back to his home in Hong Kong on Thursday. He is paying all that you are - plus a further £3000 for him to be locked in a hotel room for 21 days when he gets back there. Safe journey wishes for both of you.
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£3000, ouch!
21 days seems a bit OTT, shame the Chinese weren’t more diligent about such matters back in Nov/Dec 2019. A shorter quarantine and ‘test to release’ arrangement seems more appropriate.
Just a little aside... don’t underestimate how unpleasant 3 nasal tests in 5 days can be, particularly if they insist on using the same nostril!
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We’re just back from a “green” destination, Portugal.
As Bill has posted, Covid test needed to enter Portugal, another to return to the UK, then the DIY test on return Day 2 .
Also forms to fill in for entry to Portugal and return home, the UK one quite complex. Thankfully no queues at Manchester airport though, this afternoon.All time consuming and expensive. Don’t think I’ll be in a mad rush to book another 2 night trip any time soon.
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Good point about the complexity of the arrangements. You definitely need to be IT savvy to negotiate the requirements and complete all the data requirements satisfactorily, not helped by some ambiguous ‘official’ language and flaky software! I wasn’t able to complete the online requirements using my iPad, so just as well as I was able to do so with my iPhone.
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Well, our DIY day 2 Covid tests have come back negative 🙂.
But just reading that people on 5 of the flights to / from Porto have tested positive after returning home, and all their fellow passengers will have to self isolate for 10 days. We haven’t been contacted (yet), so fingers crossed.And Portugal are now on the “amber” list.
Much as we enjoyed the trip, that match really should have been played at Wembley.
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Yep, I reckon that's wise. We've just about decided to give up on our Greek island holiday, originally booked some 18 months ago for last year and carried over to this. Pity, because it's now showing almost £600 more expensive and we've still got our guaranteed price.
We'll just have to take the loss of the deposit we paid on the chin.
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Reading on Man City’s “Blue Moon “ on line forum, many people are just receiving emails from Track and Trace, informing them that they must self isolate for 10 days, from leaving Portugal on Sunday.
They have been on a flight when someone has tested positive on return to the UK.Most of these people will have been back at work since Monday / Tuesday, going about their normal lives, visiting family and friends, shopping etc..
Now have to self isolate for, what, 5 / 6 days....maybe I’m missing a trick, but what is the point....🤔
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You are not missing a trick P, not at all. Folk will lose their lives over this-guaranteed. To listen to the deniers it’s all over & they are demanding everything be opened up. They are meeting in big groups protesting at ongoing restrictions. I saw posted-‘we need to man up & get a life’, really?, their ‘manning up’ will be costing someone else their life as it has the knock on effect you pointed out☹️
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I agree with Rocky and Pliers re 'for the Greater Good as regards the Covid Risk
.A holiday trip abroad is not exactly a 'Human Right and we have all been through too much to see it all put at risk at this stage
.My Mum,who is in her nineties,is quite stoical about it all; 'We did not go abroad when I was young /we did not go away =too poor.When your Dad did go abroad to Europe for his first time it was not exactly for a holiday....'
Maybe we need to look at all of this in against the context of our Parents' life experiences?
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Like it or not, we have two options...don’t travel abroad again unless Covid is irradiated (unlikely) or accept and manage the risk. A system based on pre & post journey testing will always be flawed because of time lag and dependence on trust. The arrangements for the Porto football match were stupid in the extreme and a good example of how not to do it. However, a well managed system linking the location of individuals to test results as imperfect as it is, has some potential to a) monitor and assess risk and b) reduce transmission. Beyond that we can all stay at home for the next few years or accept that Covid is out there and the only defence is immunisation and a degree of luck.
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There is is a lot of speculation about what might happen to UK residents in France and other European countries. Has anyone ACTUAL experience of travel in Europe in the last few days? Someone who is perhaps in Europe right now? We have a ferry booking for Netherlands on 15June and our Dutch friend believes we are able to travel but of course the European rules appear to say otherwise
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Yes, I’ve been in Gibraltar since 25 May. They’ve had either zero or a handful of cases for several months now. I was tested when I arrived, again after 5 days and I’ll be tested again prior to departure and again on day 2 of my return to the UK. It all feels very safe, so much so I’ve extended my stay. I’ve spoken to several people who’ve made the journey here via Spain without problem. The only restriction is the need to wear a face covering until testing negative on day 5.
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Papa, A British woman and her 3 year old daughter , resident in Amsterdam, have both just been to visit her parents, my neighbours, here in Cornwall. Minimal checks at the UK airport on arrival, although she had all the right papers, then easy quarantine in her parents house.
But if her parents had wanted to visit her in Amsterdam they were told that the Dutch government would not admit them as their visit was not considered essential. So unless the Dutch relax their rules I doubt if your 15 June booking will go ahead.
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