Do you disapprove of people who are planning an overseas holiday this summer?

[sparkybird]

I was thinking more about avoiding unnecessary travel, especially flights, because of awareness of its environmental impact, rather than simply not flying to places that are currently on fire.

That's a good point but needs to go hand in hand with providing alternative employment for those who work in the tourism industry in all those places we've not going to be traveling to. Otherwise how will they support themselves and their families? They'll be more worried about the next days food than global warming.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Given the IPCC report, it's only a matter of time before people will have to apply for a licence to travel overseas, and otherwise everyone legally will have to take their holidays at Pontins.

 

[_Russ_]

Given the IPCC report, it's only a matter of time before people will have to apply for a licence to travel overseas, and otherwise everyone legally will have to take their holidays at Pontins.

In some ways I am all for it, after all the main reason this is a worldwide Pandemic is a result of mass/frequent international travel, there seems to be a sense of entitlement in the well off west that almost demands it.
The downside will be that any restrictions will as always favour the Rich and powerful and the law will be drafted to facilitate them whilst restricting the less well off and then of course any financial/regulatory/tax relief assistance that large airline companies will receive from the Governments of the world (AKA the taxpayer) to facilitate its recovery will in effect be a tax on the poor to support the rich...........same as it ever was

 

[farmerbarleymow]

In some ways I am all for it, after all the main reason this is a worldwide Pandemic is a result of mass/frequent international travel, there seems to be a sense of entitlement in the well off west that almost demands it.
The downside will be that any restrictions will as always favour the Rich and powerful and the law will be drafted to facilitate them whilst restricting the less well off and then of course any financial/regulatory/tax relief assistance that large airline companies will receive from the Governments of the world (AKA the taxpayer) to facilitate its recovery will in effect be a tax on the poor to support the rich...........same as it ever was

Nah, we could craft legislation so that the higher the net worth people have, the longer they have to stay at Pontins - under armed guard. That would be fair.

 

[rubbershoes]

Nah, we could craft legislation so that the higher the net worth people have, the longer they have to stay at Pontins - under armed guard. That would be fair.

For people who've been to boarding school, Pontins would be like a holiday

 

[farmerbarleymow]

For people who've been to boarding school, Pontins would be like a holiday

I'm sure we could make it even worse than it already is.

 

[cupid_stunt]

I'm sure we could make it even worse than it already is.

Not a chance.

 

[Elpenor]

For people who've been to boarding school, Pontins would be like a holiday

Brought to mind this quote from Decline and Fall

“...any one who has been to an English public school will always feel comparatively at home in prison”

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Not a chance.

Easy - get us lot to stay with them. You can go first.

 

[Johnny Doe]

Disapprovers will be pleased to hear that I've cancelled 10 days in Tenerife from 26th August, now replaced with the Bank Holiday weekend at Billing Aquadome.

I've also pulled out of playing football in Portugal in mid September - I just can't risk getting stuck out there, with Mrs Smiles and the mini-Smiles at home.

I think that's foreign travel over for me, until there's no test to return to the UK. I guess we might consider the start of the school summer holidays again next year. If we all go and the kids aren't due back at school, the risk of getting stuck there is less of an issue

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Disapprovers will be pleased to hear that I've cancelled 10 days in Tenerife from 26th August, now replaced with the Bank Holiday weekend at Billing Aquadome.

I've also pulled out of playing football in Portugal in mid September - I just can't risk getting stuck out there, with Mrs Smiles and the mini-Smiles at home.

I think that's foreign travel over for me, until there's no test to return to the UK. I guess we might consider the start of the school summer holidays again next year. If we all go and the kids aren't due back at school, the risk of getting stuck there is less of an issue

The testing is shite, isn't it. We won't be going again in a hurry, certainly no weekenders as you'd spend the whole time doing tests and filling out forms.

Why even tests though? Germany's not asking for them at all for vaccinated people. Surely either the vaccines work in which case no tests needed, or they don't work in which case, we're doomed...?

 

[Johnny Doe]

The testing is shite, isn't it. We won't be going again in a hurry, certainly no weekenders as you'd spend the whole time doing tests and filling out forms.

Why even tests though? Germany's not asking for them at all for vaccinated people. Surely either the vaccines work in which case no tests needed, or they don't work in which case, we're doomed...?

Nah, that's making a binary yes/no to vaccines working. When the reality is they are effective, but not 100%.

I'd be happy with just the day 2 test when you return - and obviously if you are positive, you isolate. For it to be worth travelling again, they'd need to stop track and tracing you as a contact off the plane too. I spend £350 on tests for the 4 of us all in, all of them negative, but still got messaged to isolate a week after we landed.

 

[Badgers]

Spoke to someone living in Cornwall who said loads of the hospitality places are closed due to Covid cases those that are open are all rammed.

 

[The39thStep]

Spoke to someone living in Cornwall who said loads of the hospitality places are closed due to Covid cases those that are open are all rammed.

Are they sure it’s covid and not Brexit ?

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Nah, that's making a binary yes/no to vaccines working. When the reality is the effective, but not 100%.

When do we stop testing then? Never? Yellow Fever vaccine is not 100%, but countries that require it do not ask for testing too. The UK naturally has stupidly high prices for tests and if they are being checked at all they are near as damn-it all negative, what's the point?



Who is checking these ones? £50-£200 a pop...

 

[elbows]

Why even tests though? Germany's not asking for them at all for vaccinated people. Surely either the vaccines work in which case no tests needed, or they don't work in which case, we're doomed...?

They can work in preventing serious illness and death in the majority of people, without working to the extent that nobody vaccinated gets infected and can transmit.

And we might expect differences in extent of vaccine effect depending on the strain in question. In theory even if vaccines totally blocked infection by various strains, allowing unvaccinated people to travel without testing would actually be adding to the selection pressure. Because it would be an invitation for random mutations that could bypass that vaccine effect to thrive and spread. This is still an issue even with the current situation where eisting known variants arent completely blocked by current vaccines.

Most of the compromises to rules these days are not sensible if we consider what the vaccines are proven to do so far. They are a compromise based on non-virus matters such as economic considerations and mental health.

 

[existentialist]

When do we stop testing then? Never? Yellow Fever vaccine is not 100%, but countries that require it do not ask for testing too. The UK naturally has stupidly high prices for tests and if they are being checked at all they are near as damn-it all negative, what's the point?



Who is checking these ones? £50-£200 a pop...
View attachment 283118

Because they've got their money for the tests - what does it matter that they don't deliver on the promise?

 

[Badgers]

Are they sure it’s covid and not Brexit ?

Brexit is mostly only damaging the retailer's although it seems some hospitality venues are having to limit their range.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Because they've got their money for the tests - what does it matter that they don't deliver on the promise?

Oh yeah, 20% VAT is charged on each and every test in the UK. All made in China too

 

[elbows]

When do we stop testing then? Never? Yellow Fever vaccine is not 100%, but countries that require it do not ask for testing too. The UK naturally has stupidly high prices for tests and if they are being checked at all they are near as damn-it all negative, what's the point?

Depends on several factors including how seriously the surveillance of new variants is taken.

Likely there will be increasing pressure to reduce the amount of testing and circumstances where it is deemed essential. Due to many things including cost and inconvenience and the testing regime being a constant reminder to people that things are not normal, acting as a cue for people to maintain abnormal behaviour in response to the threat.

So certainly those with an agenda of moving back to treating this virus like we treat other viruses, and getting population behaviours to return to normal, will be starting to talk about reducing testing and/or not publishing daily figures for number of positive people etc.

Competent authorities would not consider it wise to perform such a change at this particular stage. At a minimum they should wait until we see if our hospitals etc can cope with an autumn and winter during the vaccinated era. Beyond that they should still tread extremely carefully when it comes to keeping an eye on mutations. I would not want to lose sight of that side of the picture until we are more confident that a certain combination of vaccines, or vaccines plus infection, offers long-lasting protection against all the spike mutations that we think could bypass immunity.

 

[2hats]

When do we stop testing then? Never? Yellow Fever vaccine is not 100%, but countries that require it do not ask for testing too.

Case rate of yellow fever globally is <<1/100k; in the few (<10) countries significantly affected by it, the rate is around, or just under, 1/100k. So if every country can hit around 85% fully vaccinated and single digits per 100k case rates then testing for regular activities wouldn't be necessary (just maintain longitudinal monitoring via sampling in healthcare, blood donation and wastewater surveillance).

 

[Petcha]

My ex is taking my son to a villa in the mountains in Greece next week, which should have some 'interesting' views for them to enjoy by their pool sipping cocktails.

 

[Johnny Doe]

When do we stop testing then? Never? Yellow Fever vaccine is not 100%, but countries that require it do not ask for testing too. The UK naturally has stupidly high prices for tests and if they are being checked at all they are near as damn-it all negative, what's the point?

Who is checking these ones? £50-£200 a pop...

Yeah, those Randox Boxes were overflowing when I dropped ours off too.

I don't know when testing should stop, but I do know I won't fork out £ks on a holiday where we might end up stuck abroad in a quarantine hotel ever again.

 

[Badgers]

Yeah, those Randox Boxes were overflowing when I dropped ours off too.

I don't know when testing should stop, but I do know I won't fork out £ks on a holiday where we might end up stuck abroad in a quarantine hotel ever again.

Odd that...

Private companies charging stupid money for PCR tests then failing to deliver.

Our staff do LFT every day. If they test postive and isolate they still get paid. However they need a PCR in order to get paid.

One member of staff tested positive and had mild symptoms. She did a PCR the same day and that took 12 days to come back (positive) so 2 days after Isolation ends

 

[Johnny Doe]

Odd that...

Private companies charging stupid money for PCR tests then failing to deliver.

See also, tourists resorts not really wanting to find positives. We did out return to UK tests on a video call with a UK lab. On the same holiday, more than one family told us independently they had booked a test in resort and been given a negative cert without actually doing the test.

 

[miss direct]

Standard hospital tests for the purposes of travel are £25 in Turkey. That seems fair.
Wondering how to get my PCR test for my outward journey. My friend just went and paid £90, then her flight was cancelled, so she had to rebook a new test at another £90 cost. (She is travelling to collect her child, who she's been separated from for a year...not a holiday).

 

[Johnny Doe]

Standard hospital tests for the purposes of travel are £25 in Turkey. That seems fair.
Wondering how to get my PCR test for my outward journey. My friend just went and paid £90, then her flight was cancelled, so she had to rebook a new test at another £90 cost. (She is travelling to collect her child, who she's been separated from for a year...not a holiday).

In England? Randox ones for home are £43 with a discount code.

 

[Johnny Doe]

In England? Randox ones for home are £43 with a discount code.

https://www.jet2.com/en/flights/safe-travel/covid-19-test

Discount code if your scroll down the page here

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

Standard hospital tests for the purposes of travel are £25 in Turkey. That seems fair.
Wondering how to get my PCR test for my outward journey. My friend just went and paid £90, then her flight was cancelled, so she had to rebook a new test at another £90 cost. (She is travelling to collect her child, who she's been separated from for a year...not a holiday).

Turkey accepts Antigen tests taken with 48 hours prior to arrival, you can book one at Heathrow or wherever to be taken four hours before you fly. Under £50…

 

[Teaboy]

Flights to Albania have started again. Amber listed and they don't require tests to get in just the one before you fly home (PCR test 35 euros at Tirana airport) and the 2nd day thing. Nice coastline, fascinating cities and you're money goes fucking miles.