Poll

Who would be interested in travelling abroad before the pandemic is over?

Not under any circumstances
6 (85.7%)
Only if I had been vaccinated
1 (14.3%)
Would travel abroad
0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 7

Author Topic: Covid19............International travel  (Read 19363 times)

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Offline SteveH

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Covid19............International travel
« on: March 12, 2021, 10:41:44 am »
Lots of talk about traveling abroad, I am remembering this time last year when the planes were returning from Italy with the infected tourists, a major part in the spread of infection in the UK, we have seen examples recently of tourists breaking the rules of quarantine, and also arriving in the UK from RED countries via non quarantine countries, this behavior would only increase, I know every one is ready for a break, but I would not consider traveling abroad as I feel they are putting financial matters over health, and talking of money I think it would benefit the UK more if we put our cash into "Staycations"

I would be interested to know who would consider traveling abroad during the pandemic.......................... Possible poll Ian ?


First Minister gives his view on Boris Johnson's idea to allow foreign holidays from May
England's roadmap for the reopening of society earmarks May 17 as the time foreign trips could resume
https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/first-minister-gives-view-boris-20098743


Covid: When can I go on holiday abroad
The earliest date people from England will be able to travel abroad for a holiday is 17 May, when the government hopes to move to step three of its lockdown exit plan.
This will be dependent on four tests being met - including the vaccine rollout going smoothly and no surge in Covid-related hospital admissions.
At the moment, foreign travel is heavily restricted, and returning travellers have to quarantine when they re-enter the UK.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-52646738


Offline SteveH

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Re: Covid19............International travel
« Reply #1 on: March 12, 2021, 02:33:11 pm »
Thanks Ian, for arranging the above poll.


Offline Hugo

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Re: Covid19............International travel
« Reply #2 on: March 12, 2021, 03:33:01 pm »
I know of one local woman who has had three foreign holidays within the space of 6 weeks.      One of the breaks was to a country on the red list.
Not once did she quarantine or isolate herself and has had no Covid tests and immediately she came home on the three occasions she celebrated by visiting places in  England that were under Tier 3 lockdowns
She is not the only one doing that type of thing as there are many similar selfish and irresponsible people acting like her.

Offline SteveH

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Re: Covid19............International travel
« Reply #3 on: March 13, 2021, 10:39:11 am »
Remembering the fun filled times of holidays abroad, could result in disappointment.........How are European countries tackling the pandemic

Most European countries introduced lockdown measures at the start of the year, to fight new peaks in infections and deaths.
While some are starting to ease restrictions, others are extending lockdowns or introducing new regional measures.
Full list  ...  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-53640249



Covid-19 pandemic: Italy to shut shops and schools amid infection spike
Shops, restaurants and schools will be closed across most of Italy on Monday, with PM Mario Draghi warning of a "new wave" of the coronavirus outbreak.

For three days over Easter, 3-5 April, there will be a total shutdown.
Italy, which one year ago imposed one of the first national lockdowns, is once again struggling to contain the rapid spread of infections.

The country has reported more than 100,000 Covid-related deaths, Europe's second highest tally after the UK.
Italy's vaccination campaign has been hit by delays, as has been seen elsewhere in the European Union.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56382608


Please check out the above poll


Offline SteveH

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Re: Covid19............International travel
« Reply #4 on: March 16, 2021, 10:31:42 am »
From the small number who voted in the above poll, it would seem four others feel the same as I do, please vote one way or another, it would be interesting to see a larger result, thanks.

Where can I summer holiday abroad when UK travel bans are lifted?
It is currently illegal to travel abroad for holidays, but the UK government’s roadmap for exiting lockdown states that a new taskforce to review global travel restrictions will report on 12 April. International travel restrictions from England will not be lifted until 17 May at the earliest. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are yet to set a date for the resumption of international travel.

However, summer holiday bookings have already surged in anticipation, even while some politicians and public health experts have cautioned it is too early to be certain that they can take place. Some countries have already announced the restrictions that will apply to visitors from the UK once borders reopen and people are able to travel internationally again.

cont / list   https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2021/mar/15/where-can-i-summer-holiday-abroad-when-uk-travel-bans-are-lifted

Offline SteveH

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Re: Covid19............International travel
« Reply #5 on: March 21, 2021, 12:43:05 pm »
Please vote in the poll at the top of this page, it would be interesting to see a larger result, thanks.


An extension to the ban on foreign holidays in order to control the spread of coronavirus cannot be ruled out, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said.

Mr Wallace told the BBC that booking a trip abroad would be "premature".

It comes after a scientist on a government advisory body said summer holidays overseas are "extremely unlikely" because of the risk of travellers bringing variants to the UK.

Non-essential travel is banned and those coming to the UK must quarantine.

A government taskforce will report to the prime minister on 12 April detailing when and how international travel can resume.

Under the current roadmap for easing restrictions, the earliest date people in England could holiday abroad would be 17 May.

People can currently travel abroad for a limited number of reasons, such as education or work.

cont  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56475666

Offline SteveH

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Re: Covid19............International travel
« Reply #6 on: March 23, 2021, 12:27:05 pm »
Covid: £5,000 fine for people going on holiday abroad,  BBC 1 hour ago

A £5,000 fine for anyone in England trying to travel abroad without good reason is due to come into force next week as part of new coronavirus laws.

The penalty is included in legislation that will be voted on by MPs on Thursday.

Foreign holidays are currently not allowed under the "stay at home" rule which ends on Monday.

From next week the ban on leaving the UK will become a specific law, backed up by the threat of the fine.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56493002

Offline SteveH

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Re: Covid19............International travel
« Reply #7 on: April 01, 2021, 10:10:24 am »
Mark Drakeford has called on people to take holidays in Wales this summer rather than heading abroad.

Wales' First Minister said he would encourage people in Wales to holiday domestically over the summer in place of a trip abroad due to the coronavirus situation.

But he said if UK Government rules allowed for trips abroad, they would not seek to stand in the way of this.

Speaking to Good Morning Britain ahead of a press conference this afternoon, Mr Drakeford said: "I'd say that this is the year to have your holiday in Wales. There are so many fantastic opportunities here.

"If ever there was a year to enjoy what we have domestically, and to find those spots in Wales that you haven't visited before, this is the year to do it."

Cont  https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/welsh-government-say-foreign-holidays-20300150

Offline SteveH

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Re: Covid19............International travel
« Reply #8 on: April 01, 2021, 05:32:26 pm »
South African Covid variant accounts for one in seven cases in most of Europe
European summer holidays in doubt as data shows 23 out of 27 EU countries have reported and sequenced the South African coronavirus variant

Extract from the Telegraph

Offline SteveH

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Re: Covid19............International travel
« Reply #9 on: April 02, 2021, 10:16:15 am »
GOING on foreign holidays this summer risks bringing new variants of coronavirus back from countries where cases are on the rise, Wales’ First Minister has said.

“Everybody will have seen the actions that have happened in France just overnight. Not just in France, but in Italy and Germany, in other parts of the continent where the virus is in circulation again.

“It’s not simply that the numbers of people suffering from coronavirus is going up so quickly, but new variants are present in those outbreaks, and what I don’t want to see is those new variants being re imported into Wales.”             ref Pioneer

Offline SteveH

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Re: Covid19............International travel
« Reply #10 on: April 06, 2021, 11:56:40 am »
The boss of EasyJet has said testing requirements under a proposed "traffic light" system for international travel would be too expensive.

Under the system, no isolation would be necessary on return to the UK from so-called "green" countries.

But pre-departure and post-arrival tests would be required, potentially costing up to £200 each.

Johan Lundgren said: "You wouldn't open up international travel for everyone, but only those who can afford it."

Mr Lundgren told the BBC's Today programme that the cost of getting the tests would exceed a typical EasyJet fare.

On Sunday, plans for a risk-based system to restart foreign travel were outlined, in which countries would be classified as "green", "amber" or "red" based on their infection rates and vaccination coverage.

However, while the prime minister said he was "hopeful" that non-essential foreign travel could begin again on 17 May, he added that more data was needed before a firm decision could be taken.

cont  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56647119

Please add to the poll at the top of this page .............

Offline SteveH

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Re: Covid19............International travel ..new Indian virus strain
« Reply #11 on: April 20, 2021, 10:53:15 am »
After hearing a few remarks that the new Indian virus strain, is not being affected by vaccines, and that India is still not on the red list, I can only hope the government acts quickly, and halts flights, and not ignore the dangers, as they did over a year ago, especially as the UK is beginning to improve so well.


India reported 259,170 new cases and 1,761 deaths over a 24-hour period on Tuesday, according to government data.
It is the sixth day in a row that India’s daily case count exceeded 200,000 while the daily death toll — still comparatively low — is inching higher.    cont   https://www.cnbc.com/2021/04/20/india-coronavirus-second-wave-shows-no-signs-of-slowing.html


A new variant of coronavirus, first found in India in late 2020, has been discovered in the UK.

Health officials say the genetic changes it has undergone might make it more contagious - and past Covid infection or current vaccines may not offer full protection against it. More studies are needed to be sure.

What is the Indian variant?
There are many thousands of different versions, or variants, of Covid circulating.

More than 100 cases of the Indian variant (also known as B.1.617) have been confirmed in the UK. That may sound like a large number, but it is less than 1% of the Covid samples that have been analysed for their genetic make-up in the UK.

Public Health England says it appears a few of the cases are not linked to international travel. Investigations into how they were acquired are continuing.

cont  https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-55659820

Offline SteveH

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Update on above   

Covid: Why was India not already on the red list?

India will be added to the government's travel-ban red list from Friday 23 April. (a bit late considering that international air travel was a big part of the problem.)

It came after Boris Johnson cancelled his planned trip to the country because of the Covid situation there.

India has been reporting more than 200,000 cases daily since 15 April.

But Pakistan and Bangladesh have both been on the red list since 9 April.

Announcing the decision on India, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the government had now found 103 cases of this new variant in the UK. He said: "the vast majority have links to international travel and have been picked up by our testing at the border".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/56801288


PS  8 Cases of the new Indian coronavirus variant have been confirmed in Wales
Public Health Wales have issued a statement on the matter
cont  https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/cases-new-indian-coronavirus-variant-20433743

Offline SteveH

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Re: Covid19............International travel
« Reply #13 on: April 22, 2021, 01:33:18 pm »
Shows how stringent our checks need to be.........especially as those who want to come to the UK from India, have to be here before Friday, if they don't want to go into mandatory quarantine, over 3,000 have already returned, with many more following.

Dozens of passengers test positive for COVID on flight from India to Hong Kong

At least 53 passengers on an Indian airline flight from Delhi to Hong Kong this month reportedly tested positive for COVID-19 – after everyone aboard had tested negative within 72 hours prior to departure.

The Vistara airline plane — which landed in Hong Kong on April 4 — can hold 188 passengers, but officials in the territory did not announce Tuesday how many were aboard the buggy flight, Agence France-Presse reported.

News about the large number of infections comes as the Chinese financial hub introduced an emergency ban on arrivals from India amid a new surge in cases.

The positive results emerged while the arriving passengers were undergoing Hong Kong’s mandatory three-week quarantine period, one of the strictest entry requirments in the world.


https://nypost.com/2021/04/20/dozens-of-passengers-test-positive-for-covid-on-flight-from-india/

Offline SteveH

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Re: Covid19............International travel
« Reply #14 on: April 24, 2021, 09:55:13 am »
Welshman describes hectic four-hour airport queue as like 'swimming in Covid soup'
Stuart Rideout was forced to queue for 4 hours at Heathrow Airport after a trip to Germany

The 52-year-old filmmaker, who was behind both M&S and Waitrose's former Christmas ad campaigns and 2016's award-winning promo for the Climate Coalition, had been in Germany filming a commercial.

The scenes were something that even pre-coronavirus would bring dread to any traveller, never mind under the current conditions.
However, more than 12 months since the pandemic hit the up, it's what Mr Rideout faced when he arrived at Heathrow airport yesterday evening.
He said: “There were only 20 people on our plane back from Germany, so I thought I'd breeze straight through to the car park.
"Plus there were hardly any planes on the tarmac when we landed.
"But when we finally got to UK border control in Terminal 2, I was like, 'Oh my God'."

For the next four hours, Stuart found himself stuck in a long, snaking queue - "the kind you'd normally see for a ride at Disneyland" - and surrounded by hundreds of others.

"People did start off trying to socially distance, but that soon fell apart,"
"The queue just went back and forth, up and down, and soon there were bodies on all sides.
"It was really humid in there too, but - to be fair - airport staff were handing out bottles of water.
"Even then though there's that uneasy feeling of touching something that's been handed to you by someone else.

"And if this is what it's like while it's still supposed to be essential travel only, God knows what'll happen when everything's opened back up again."

Stuart said that he'd already had a PCR test and filled out the relevant passenger locator forms in order to travel - in addition to which he'd been tested daily whilst working on the project.

"It was really strict over there, but then you return here to stand in a room with hundreds of other people from all over the world and all of you are breathing the same air.

"Okay, I assume they will have also been tested before getting on their respective flights, but there was still one guy that had to get taken out of the queue because he was showing symptoms.

"He was then led away to be isolated."

Now also quarantining at home near Bridgend for 10 days as per government guidelines, Stuart added: "The whole experience felt like swimming in Covid soup.

full story and photos/ video  https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/welshman-describes-hectic-four-hour-20456609
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