☣ Coronavirus ☣

[claretclubber]

Covid plan for England: trips abroad could be permitted from May

Traffic light system rating countries, watch list and new quarantine rules raise hopes of international travel from 17 May

www.theguardian.com

We may get a list of countries and their traffic light colour early May. Wonder if Spain will be a while colour or islands assessed individually?

Cost aside it looks like some travel may be possible early summer

 

[Amigo]

What I don’t understand is the price of PCR tests in the UK. The price here is about 150dirhams (30 quid) and you get the result in about 8 hours. This isn‘t funded by Government either - this is from private hospitals actually making a profit (also Etihad will pay this for you).

When i was on holiday in the Maldives at Christmas it was about 60 quid arranged in resort (so had to be transported etc).

Is the cost in the UK simply supply and demand and lack of testing facilities or is it a case of organizations profiteering?

Seems to be a major issue. The transport minister was on the radio this morning saying he's looking into this and the option of opening up the supply market. Any current suppliers profiteering will be removed from the preferred supplier list (that list is a whole other debate). Long way to go with this by the looks of it.

 

[NilSatis]

I can’t get over these take up numbers by age group! Do the Brits just do as they told, or maybe as death rate so high people taking it up? Sounds weird what I’m about to say, but as much as I’ll bite your arm off for a vaccine, but still worries me when 95% of people do as they are told by the state.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1380149681322397699

Maybe as a nation we are becoming able to see through the anti-vax boIIocks and acting in our own and everyone elses best interests. Incredible level of understanding and pragmatism demonstrated yesterday from the sister of one of the unfortunate blood clot victims. As a pharmacist herself she said her brother had been incredible unlucky and still urged others to receive the vaccine.

 

[cunninghamali]

What I don’t understand is the price of PCR tests in the UK. The price here is about 150dirhams (30 quid) and you get the result in about 8 hours. This isn‘t funded by Government either - this is from private hospitals actually making a profit (also Etihad will pay this for you).

When i was on holiday in the Maldives at Christmas it was about 60 quid arranged in resort (so had to be transported etc).

Is the cost in the UK simply supply and demand and lack of testing facilities or is it a case of organizations profiteering?

Yes the cost is annoying, in Spain its about 110 to 120 euros for it also...these companies are making a fortune

 

[2H76]

Spain's % of people vaccinated (one jab) is now where the UK was on Feb 1. The UK is currently slowing down the first jabs to allow second jabs to take place; Spain seems to be speeding up.

Reading the press looks like if you are going to/returning from a "green" country all that will be required is two simple and free tests which you can do yourself - so hopefully the balearics will be "green".

I'm giving it a miss, maybe until September, isn't worth the hassle or worry right now - rooms and flights should be easy to find after the first week of Sept and I'll virtually stay there for 6 weeks!

 

[CraigyB]

I can’t get over these take up numbers by age group! Do the Brits just do as they told, or maybe as death rate so high people taking it up? Sounds weird what I’m about to say, but as much as I’ll bite your arm off for a vaccine, but still worries me when 95% of people do as they are told by the state.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1380149681322397699

Vaccine culture in UK is something ingrained in us. It happens from birth and I think there is also fairly genuine trust in the NHS.

Also people are wanting to get there lifes back and understand this is the only way.

 

[Digital2013]

I can’t get over these take up numbers by age group! Do the Brits just do as they told, or maybe as death rate so high people taking it up? Sounds weird what I’m about to say, but as much as I’ll bite your arm off for a vaccine, but still worries me when 95% of people do as they are told by the state.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1380149681322397699

I think we are generally quite an obedient nation, not up there with countries like China but we do like rules, queues and organisation. I think other posters are right that most just want to get out of this mess, there's also a bit of patriotic pride I think that we have developed a vacinne the quickest and are doing the best in Europe at jabbing.

Good to see the rate for younger people is now 28% as that will have a real impact as we are the ones more likely to be working and out and about in general so that should really start to curb the infection rate further.

 

[2H76]

Quick addition to my post; the Guardian says this;

People arriving in England from green-list countries will have to take a pre-departure virus test and a PCR test on the day after their return, but will not need to self-isolate or take any other tests.

The government said this would halve the cost of testing, and it hoped to work with the travel industry and testing companies to reduce this further. Johnson has said cheaper rapid tests were under consideration as an alternative to PCR tests.

Basically stating we will have to pay for a PCR test but we might not have to if other rapid tests are available

 

[TimmiT]

What I don’t understand is the price of PCR tests in the UK. The price here is about 150dirhams (30 quid) and you get the result in about 8 hours. This isn‘t funded by Government either - this is from private hospitals actually making a profit (also Etihad will pay this for you).

When i was on holiday in the Maldives at Christmas it was about 60 quid arranged in resort (so had to be transported etc).

Is the cost in the UK simply supply and demand and lack of testing facilities or is it a case of organizations profiteering?

It's a total rip off, I was paying about 78€ in Germany. I now live in Lisbon and to fly back to the UK next weekend I will need at least four tests, costing almost twice the price of the plane ticket.

 

[Springal]

Who doesn't want better 5G signal?

 

[W_I_C]

My uptake of the vaccine has zero to do with what our government say and everything to do with my trust in science and medicine

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day

 

[kimajy]

Covid plan for England: trips abroad could be permitted from May

Traffic light system rating countries, watch list and new quarantine rules raise hopes of international travel from 17 May

www.theguardian.com

We may get a list of countries and their traffic light colour early May. Wonder if Spain will be a while colour or islands assessed individually?

Cost aside it looks like some travel may be possible early summer

What is conspicuously absent from the article is any mention that testing requirements will be waived for fully vaccinated people, it only indicates that this might help with dropping quarantine requirements in amber list countries. That'll put a lot of people off, especially short trips.

 

[2H76]

What is conspicuously absent from the article is any mention that testing requirements will be waived for fully vaccinated people, it only indicates that this might help with dropping quarantine requirements in amber list countries. That'll put a lot of people off, especially short trips.

Yes, I'm puzzled by that, if you have had both doses and waited three weeks, I can't see why you need to be tested? presumably they still think you can carry and spread the virus, and also that you could pick up a new varient?

I'll be interested to know how many having the full vaccination take tests and are found to carry covid, even if they are totally unaware? More importantly - can they spread that to an unvaxxed person?

We will only know when they open us up; keeping us inside doesn't show whether the vax works or not - after all how can we spread CV under lockdown?

 

[W_I_C]

I think it's easy to take a view that private PCR tests are over-priced now, but 12months ago the private medical sector helped get us out of a sticky situation and that doesn't come without risk

 

[chez]

We have a few holidays / city breaks booked for the end of the summer and back end of the year as initially we were playing it safe as most on here seem to also be swaying too, but after talks with the ball and chain we have come the conclusion that we might be best off booking a very last minute one early doors aswell, soon as the UK gets the go ahead with a 'green' destination. Just a cheap week in the sun anywhere as one thing we have learnt is anything can happen, as much as we are doing well on the Vaccine uptake and cases the threat of a new variant or whatever is possibly waiting round the corner to bring us back to sqaure one, flights back to a standstill and a long Summer ahead

 

[2H76]

Jet2 have suspended flights up until June 23 which is two days after "freedom day". Duno whether that's all flights or just "holiday" flights - there must have been a few depending on them to reunite families after May 17th?

 

[2H76]

We have a few holidays / city breaks booked for the end of the summer and back end of the year as initially we were playing it safe as most on here seem to also be swaying too, but after talks with the ball and chain we have come the conclusion that we might be best off booking a very last minute one early doors soon as the UK gets the go ahead with a 'green' destination. Just a cheap week in the sun anywhere as one thing we have learnt is anything can happen, as much as we are doing well on the Vaccine uptake and cases the threat of a new variant or whatever is possibly waiting round the corner to bring us back to sqaure one, flights back to a standstill and a long Summer ahead

Last minute is totally the way to go if you can. If a worker is tied to a date, might be an idea to book three hotels in three different resorts that have free cancellation; and then get a flight to one of them if you can the week before you travel and cancel the other hotel bookings. Not really fair on the hotels and means they put up prices for everyone else - but what else can you do seeing as the airlines won't refund if they still fly but you can't?? It's an unholy mess.

 

[chez]

Last minute is totally the way to go if you can. If a worker is tied to a date, might be an idea to book three hotels in three different resorts that have free cancellation; and then get a flight to one of them if you can the week before you travel and cancel the other hotel bookings. Not really fair on the hotels and means they put up prices for everyone else - but what else can you do seeing as the airlines won't refund if they still fly but you can't?? It's an unholy mess.

Absolutely mate! We use booking.com alot for this reason as its a breeze with cancellations just incase.. im really hoping the keep the islands separate from the mainland when making the traffic light decisions but guess we will have to see

 

[kimajy]

I'll be interested to know how many having the full vaccination take tests and are found to carry covid, even if they are totally unaware? More importantly - can they spread that to an unvaxxed person?

We will only know when they open us up; keeping us inside doesn't show whether the vax works or not - after all how can we spread CV under lockdown?

I think the general view at the moment from observations in the studies where weekly testing of participants was routinely carried out is that if you are asymptomatic or have very mild disease because you are vaccinated there is a very likely significant decrease in your risk to others as a result of low viral load. But given how some so-called super-spreaders in the early days of the pandemic were asymptomatic this is likely also very dependent on behaviour and how strongly e.g. masks and social distancing are operating. But you can most definitely come up PCR+ve - I expect in particular that will be seen a lot with people getting the single dose Janssen jab which to all intents and purposes is comparable to a single jab with Astrazeneca. Very decent against hospitalization and death, significantly less so against milder infection.

 

[The Sun God]

am sure some of these things will ease up after May but this journalist's account of travel as it is right now between UK and Spain is worth a read

https://twitter.com/x/status/1380457839873957889