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

Is planning an overseas holiday this summer the right thing to do

  • Yes - I’m already booked and will go away regardless of the rules

    Votes: 5 3.7%
  • I’d be booked if the testing regime was more relaxed

    Votes: 7 5.1%
  • I would like a holiday abroad but not until Covid restrictions are over

    Votes: 56 41.2%
  • No they’re selfish bastards thinking only of themselves

    Votes: 32 23.5%
  • NA - I always holiday within the UK

    Votes: 11 8.1%
  • What’s a holiday? I work 400 days a year down the mines

    Votes: 25 18.4%

  • Total voters
    136
So as I see it, the basic process is this:

1) Travel large distances for non-essential purposes during a pandemic
2) Suffer some inconvenience as a result of this
3) Cry about it

Meanwhile, in real problems...



I'm glad I got down there, Cornwall, for a few days in May. The first week the pubs opened. Rained a fair bit but was great.
 
So, the person staying with me never received their two-day pcr kit. They sent query emails twice, only to receive an auto reply 'due to the high number of emails we receive we can not provide an answer to your question straight away but will get back to you within 48 hours'. Nobody ever got back to us.

In the end they left after 10 days without testing themselves.

Today they sent an email asking for a refund (£89) and received the following reply:

Good morning,

Thank you for your email , Can you please return the kit unused to 23 Townhead StHamilton ML3 7BQ,

Once we have this back we can request a refund to be made, This will show in your account within 5 to 10 days.

Please let us know when this has been returned.

There is also a £25 restocking fee applicable per kit.

Kind regards,
Josh S


:facepalm::facepalm::facepalm:
 
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So, the person staying with me never received their two-day pcr kit. They sent query emails twice, only to receive an auto reply 'due to the high number of emails we receive we can not provide an answer to your question straight away but will get back to you within 48 hours'. Nobody ever got back to us.

In the end they left after 10 days without testing themselves.

Today they sent an email asking for a refund (£89) and received the following reply:

Good morning,

Thank you for your email , Can you please return the kit unused to 23 Townhead StHamilton ML3 7BQ,

Once we have this back we can request a refund to be made, This will show in your account within 5 to 10 days.

Please let us know when this has been returned.

There is also a £25 restocking fee applicable per kit.

Kind regards,
Josh S


:facepalm::facepalm::facepalm:
Might be worth reporting them to the CMA as they're warning these companies about taking the piss with this sort of thing.

 
Has anyone travelled into England recently from a Green or Amber country?

I'm interested in the proof needed for the booking of the Day 2 test. Who is checking this? The airlines or officials in the UK on arrival?

I can get a free PCR test on site at work but I don't need to book it, I just show up. Obvs I don't want to have to fork out £40 odd quid for a private test when I can get a PCR one for free. But what kind of proof do they need? Emails? Text messages? Is anyone even asking for proof of a booking or is it just an unchecked requirement.
 
Has anyone travelled into England recently from a Green or Amber country?

I'm interested in the proof needed for the booking of the Day 2 test. Who is checking this? The airlines or officials in the UK on arrival?

I can get a free PCR test on site at work but I don't need to book it, I just show up. Obvs I don't want to have to fork out £40 odd quid for a private test when I can get a PCR one for free. But what kind of proof do they need? Emails? Text messages? Is anyone even asking for proof of a booking or is it just an unchecked requirement.
Me too, but I'm more interested in the Covid test you're supposed to take before you come back. Hoping to go to Spain late October but it currently looks too much of a faff because you'd waste a day just getting a PCR test pre-return unless i'm missing something. Seems easy to go out if you've been double-jabbed it's the return that is more problematic.
 
Has anyone travelled into England recently from a Green or Amber country?

I'm interested in the proof needed for the booking of the Day 2 test. Who is checking this? The airlines or officials in the UK on arrival?

I can get a free PCR test on site at work but I don't need to book it, I just show up. Obvs I don't want to have to fork out £40 odd quid for a private test when I can get a PCR one for free. But what kind of proof do they need? Emails? Text messages? Is anyone even asking for proof of a booking or is it just an unchecked requirement.
I did it 3 weeks ago. You have to enter the booking reference number for the test on the passenger locator form. The airlines will only check you have done the form. There were signs in the queue for UK border control saying they were checking evidence of booking (e.g. email) but no one checked mine, or my passenger locator form. No idea if anyone actually checks whether the booking reference number is valid... but the test provider has to meet certain minimum requirements, more info here: https://www.find-travel-test-provider.service.gov.uk/test-type/green#standards
 
Me too, but I'm more interested in the Covid test you're supposed to take before you come back. Hoping to go to Spain late October but it currently looks too much of a faff because you'd waste a day just getting a PCR test pre-return unless i'm missing something. Seems easy to go out if you've been double-jabbed it's the return that is more problematic.

I'm going to Italy in Oct where I've worked out I need a test prior to flying. Then coming back:

After you arrive in England you must take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 from Red, amber, green lists: check the rules for travel to England from abroad
 
Me too, but I'm more interested in the Covid test you're supposed to take before you come back. Hoping to go to Spain late October but it currently looks too much of a faff because you'd waste a day just getting a PCR test pre-return unless i'm missing something. Seems easy to go out if you've been double-jabbed it's the return that is more problematic.

I've seen services for the 72-hours before return (to England) where you can take a test on video within the 72 hours of returning and when you show them the negative result, they'll issue you with the certificate. So in theory you can take the test kit with you rather than have to find a local test centre.

I'll see if I can find more detail on this in a bit as I'm just leaving work.
 
Has anyone travelled into England recently from a Green or Amber country?

I'm interested in the proof needed for the booking of the Day 2 test. Who is checking this? The airlines or officials in the UK on arrival?

I can get a free PCR test on site at work but I don't need to book it, I just show up. Obvs I don't want to have to fork out £40 odd quid for a private test when I can get a PCR one for free. But what kind of proof do they need? Emails? Text messages? Is anyone even asking for proof of a booking or is it just an unchecked requirement.

IIRC it can't be an NHS one (if that's what your free one at work is) so you have to pay for one from a private provider.
 
You get a reference from the company you buy the test from without which you can’t complete the passenger locator form.

There are no checks that you actually do the test though.
 
I've seen services for the 72-hours before return (to England) where you can take a test on video within the 72 hours of returning and when you show them the negative result, they'll issue you with the certificate. So in theory you can take the test kit with you rather than have to find a local test centre.

I'll see if I can find more detail on this in a bit as I'm just leaving work.
For the Pre-departure lateral flows, it’s often cheaper to do them in the country you’re visiting, we paid €20 in Portugal for tests at a drive-through place, the provider was listed by easyJet with links to booking. About £30-40 if you want to do a U.K. based one.

The place we went to also administered the test themselves, and shoved the swab up my nose much further than I would, I was expecting it to come out of my ear! They said it didn‘t work unless you went all the way up, which I already thought I was doing.
 
So it looks like there will be an announcement regarding travel rules tomorrow. The new rules will come in force in time for half-term.

Obviously no official news but the reporting is that amber and green will be merged and red zone countries will be reduced to the most at risk.

I know some here won't like this at all but its essentially what I've argued for on the general thread because the system we have the moment is pointless and just fucking jobs without really achieving much. If you are going to make no attempt to control the virus internally and are seemingly happy with high rates of infection its hard to justify the existing travel rules. Anyway, they were just a far too late knee jerk reaction following the mess with India and the start of the year.

There should be some countries considered a red zone of course and they should be countries where variants of concern are at not the situation at the moment where loads of red zone countries have lower numbers than the UK. Obviously many countries will not want visitors from Plague Island but that's up to them.
 
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So it looks like there will be an announcement regarding travel rules tomorrow. The new rules will come in force in time for half-term.

Obviously no official news but the reporting is that amber and green will be merged and red zone countries will be reduced to the most at risk.

I know some here won't like this at all but its essentially what I've argued for on the general thread because the system we have the moment is pointless and just fucking jobs without really achieving much. If you are going to make no attempt to control the virus internally and are seemingly happy with high rates of infection its hard to justify the existing travel rules. Anyway, they were just a far too late knee jerk reaction following the mess with India and the start of the year.

There should be some countries considered a red zone of course and they should be countries where variants of concern are at not the situation at the moment where loads of red zone countries have lower numbers than the UK. Obviously many countries will not want visitors from Plague Island but that's up to them.
The UK and US should be high up the red zone for the rest of the world
 
That's handy I fly back to the UK for a week on October 5th, can put the savings I make on not having the pre departure test towards the 2nd day PCT test. As I have an EU vaccine passport I don't need a lateral flow test to get back to Portugal either.
 
I'm pissed off South Africa still red, numbers right down with a solid vaccination program.
What are the deciding factors?
 
I'm pissed off South Africa still red, numbers right down with a solid vaccination program.
What are the deciding factors?

It's hard to know the true numbers of cases, because not much testing is being done, and whilst they are leading Africa on vaccination, it's still only around 17.5% of the population that are fully vaccinated.

But, IIRC, the main concern is over the beta variant, and checking, it seems South African scientists have detected yet another new variant with multiple mutations*, so 'variants' are probably the reason for caution.

*
 
This survey says that a majority of people questioned think it's wrong that the gov's made it easier to travel.
I can't help wondering whether people say this motivated by safety concerns or because they kind of resent the holidayers, for non-covid reasons. idk.

 
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