Covid restrictions abroad: updates & observations

[Nicholas Lewis]

Shapps answering transport questions hasn't given anything away this morning other than confirming you will need a PCR or LFD (still haven't decided) test from even green countries upto at least 28th June the first review date. He said countries will be categorised around
1. Level of Covid
2. Vaccine penetration
3. Variants at large
4. Quality of data provided

Like the roadmap no doubt specific criteria will never be declared I suspect.

There will be a "Green" watchlist so at least you can book ahead with some confidence.

They will be opening the e gates again.

 

[Cdd89]

Further to the posts in the Second jab delayed beyond 12 weeks thread, I suspect there is a chance some destinations will only remove restrictions such as quarantine for those who are fully vaccinated, not partially vaccinated (maybe the UK too for those returning from Green/Amber countries). This wouldn't make sense to me as the distinction between someone who has received a single dose, and someone who has received both doses, is fuzzier than many imply. But it wouldn't surprise me as an overcautious policy.

I wonder if this therefore implies that those of us still waiting for a first dose a month from now may be advantaged by expressing preference for a single dose vaccine, such as J&J; delaying vaccination by up to ~10 weeks if necessary in order to achieve this. I would have no interest in doing so if I thought those who had received a first dose of another vaccine had the same rights as a fully vaccinated person, but assuming isn't the case, it could unlock international travel far sooner.

 

[YorkshireBear]

Still not booking anything abroad for this summer. I have tentatively, and all flexibly, booked a rail trip around Germany and the Czech Republic for December. I have my fingers crossed so hard!

 

[Bantamzen]

Still not booking anything abroad for this summer. I have tentatively, and all flexibly, booked a rail trip around Germany and the Czech Republic for December. I have my fingers crossed so hard!

We have decided not to book any package holidays this year, but Kefalonia next May will be booked tomorrow when I get paid. However once flights from LBA start taking off for Malaga & we are allowed on them, we'll be heading for a family member's villa on the next available one!

 

[YorkshireBear]

We have decided not to book any package holidays this year, but Kefalonia next May will be booked tomorrow when I get paid. However once flights from LBA start taking off for Malaga & we are allowed on them, we'll be heading for a family member's villa on the next available one!

To be honest, I keep getting tempted by the Algarve but I am using most of my leave to go spend extended time with family and friends who live far away. I might change my mind yet, but anything this summer is going to be book at short notice when confident sudden measures are not going to be imposed.

 

[Bantamzen]

To be honest, I keep getting tempted by the Algarve but I am using most of my leave to go spend extended time with family and friends who live far away. I might change my mind yet, but anything this summer is going to be book at short notice when confident sudden measures are not going to be imposed.

Spain will be a last minute job for us, but we're only a 15 minute taxi ride away from LBA & the villa is only 25 minutes from AGP.

 

[SouthEastBuses]

I also booked an EasyJet flight, going to Spain (Costa del Sol) in June. We have been given the option to depart a few days earlier if we wish to.

 

[YorkshireBear]

Spain will be a last minute job for us, but we're only a 15 minute taxi ride away from LBA & the villa is only 25 minutes from AGP.

Nice and simple! I live under the LBA flight path in city centre so I'll wave!

I used to have a colleague with an apartment in Algarve but he sold it, much to my dismay I'd definitely have tapping them up so I was in a similar situation to you.

Just the idea of being herded round covid compliant hotels on package deals just isn't what I'm after. Especially as I'm quite young so happy arranging it all myself.

About to book the flights for Germany in december, Eurowings and Lufthansa seem to have good rebook policies and I'm fairly confident if December sees some restrictions I'll be able to rebook them to the following summer no problem.

 

[Bantamzen]

Nice and simple! I live under the LBA flight path in city centre so I'll wave!

I used to have a colleague with an apartment in Algarve but he sold it, much to my dismay I'd definitely have tapping them up so I was in a similar situation to you.

Just the idea of being herded round covid compliant hotels on package deals just isn't what I'm after. Especially as I'm quite young so happy arranging it all myself.

About to book the flights for Germany in december, Eurowings and Lufthansa seem to have good rebook policies and I'm fairly confident if December sees some restrictions I'll be able to rebook them to the following summer no problem.

Hopefully by then covidphobia will be a thing of the past and travel will be returning to something like normal.

 

[Yew]

And thankfully, regarding the app, you can have a negative test result if you're not vaccinated.

So despite being at minimal risk, we once again the second class citizens?

 

[johnnychips]

So despite being at minimal risk, we once again the second class citizens?

Agreed, but it is up to the foreign government to decide what they require for you to enter. On the other hand, it would be petty of the UK to not let you re-enter from an approved country that has let you in. Perhaps a compromise that you could take a LFT, whose results only take 30 mins, but I could still see this causing chaos!

 

[Yew]

Perhaps a compromise that you could take a LFT, whose results only take 30 mins, but I could still see this causing chaos!

At the risk of being carted off to some foreign 'Isolation centre'.

Agreed, but it is up to the foreign government to decide what they require for you to enter.

There's this new thing called diplomacy...

 

[johnnychips]

At the risk of being carted off to some foreign 'Isolation centre'.

There's this new thing called diplomacy...

Sorry, I think you misunderstood me. Firstly, it is up to the foreign government whether they let you in or not. Yes, diplomacy might smooth this, and I can actually see that our government might now be realising that a ‘staycation’ for everybody might be impossible and/or very expensive.

The LFT I said referred to returning to the UK, when you arrived back. I think it would be absolutely ludicrous and impracticable that everyone should be subject to a test, but if they went down this route, at least the LFT test only takes 30 minutes to get a result, rather than forcing people to take a PCR test and quarantine themselves. It would still cause chaos.

 

[Yew]

Sorry, I think you misunderstood me. Firstly, it is up to the foreign government whether they let you in or not. Yes, diplomacy might smooth this, and I can actually see that our government might now be realising that a ‘staycation’ for everybody might be impossible and/or very expensive.

The LFT I said referred to returning to the UK, when you arrived back. I think it would be absolutely ludicrous and impracticable that everyone should be subject to a test, but if they went down this route, at least the LFT test only takes 30 minutes to get a result, rather than forcing people to take a PCR test and quarantine themselves. It would still cause chaos.

With vaccinesat their current level, we need to stop all of this hypocondriac obsession over cases, and consign this barbarity to to annals of history.

 

[Elwyn]

Before rushing anywhere it might be a good idea to check what’s going on in your intended destination. I have a friend who is a long term resident of Majorca. She says that the island is way behind the UK with Covid vaccination. Hardly anyone has been vaccinated. 70-79 year olds hope to be vaccinated in late May. So there’s a great reluctance to see lots of visitors just now. The island is largely dead. This was her description 2 weeks ago:

“The current restrictions on the Islands are due to expire or be re-adjusted on April 12th. Currently no inside eating in cafes or restaurants and all have to close at 17.00....take-aways allowed but a general curfew of 22.00 for travel. Masks must be worn in all settings apart from on the beach providing you are not close to anyone else. Outdoor sports such as golf, tennis, football etc are allowed and some indoor swimming pools are open but you need to make an appointment. Just now I can only meet one other person or a family group of not more than four people. Traveling is restricted to within the Islands but not encouraged unless you have a good and valid reason for being out. Shops and supermarkets are mostly open but currently large stores are not open at weekends. So as you can see life continues but without much joy!”

The island is very quiet and lots of businesses aren’t bothering to re-open. There are no clubs or evening activities. I suppose if all you want to do is sit on the beach that may suit well enough. But do you actually want to go there at the moment, especially if the locals aren’t necessarily all that keen to see you given how far behind the UK the EU is with the vaccination programme?

Obviously other countries will have different rules and they will be changing all the time but I’d just wonder if going there is worth the effort at present. Or appropriate given the locals concerns.

 

[Yew]

Or appropriate given the locals concerns.

I'm done with wasting my life to appease other peoples inaccurate perception of safety.

 

[Elwyn]

I'm done with wasting my life to appease other peoples inaccurate perception of safety.

How considerate of you.

 

[Ianno87]

I'm done with wasting my life to appease other peoples inaccurate perception of safety.

What a fantastically British attitude towards other cultures. We're not an Empire any more, we don't just turn up in other countries and expect them to follow our rules.

 

[Yew]

How considerate of you.

I'm the one that has had a year of my life stolen, I'm the one that over the last few months has had a kitchen knife at my throat rather too many times than I'd like. It's time to get rid of sanctimonious BS that lockdown is somehow a 'minor inconvenience that is really effective at saving lives' and take it for that it is, highly experimental and damaging set of measures with no clear evidence of effectiveness, and phenomenal economic, personal and societal costs that we will be all bearing the consequences of for the rest of our lives.

What a fantastically British attitude towards other cultures. We're not an Empire any more, we don't just turn up in other countries and expect them to follow our rules.

When those rules are discriminatory and based on fear and petty nationalism, we should do everything in our power to stop them.

 

[Bantamzen]

What a fantastically British attitude towards other cultures. We're not an Empire any more, we don't just turn up in other countries and expect them to follow our rules.

It doesn't have to be like that. At the end of the day some countries rely heavily on tourism to generate income for the locals, and equally important generate taxes for those governments. And we have people itching to get away to spend our hard earned in said countries, and they will be using UK businesses / UK based businesses to travel with & shop for holiday items, so there is something of a symbiotic relationship here.

Therefore the two countries could, if they so wished, come to some kind of agreement that allows relatively restriction free travel that benefits both instead of either side cutting their noses to spite their faces. We were able to come to such agreements last year without any vaccines, so there really little reason not to explore the same possibilities this year. All that stands in the way is political gesturing.

 

[Ianno87]

When those rules are discriminatory and based on fear and petty nationalism, we should do everything in our power to stop them.

And if the rules are rational and reflect the current local situation...?

 

[Yew]

And if the rules are rational and reflect the current local situation...?

Then there would be no restriction on international travel, as all literature up until this point suggested that it was a waste of time that wouldn't do anything.

 

[SouthEastBuses]

I'm done with wasting my life to appease other peoples inaccurate perception of safety.

Yeah I agree.

We may dislike some cultures and find them not ideal for ourselves, but we don't go and impose them what to do just because we do it. Because at the end of the day it's their culture, their country and we have no right to tell them what they can and cannot do.

 

[Cdd89]

I notice Disney Cruise Line (even for U.K. Staycation cruises) is requiring all guests to be “fully vaccinated”. This is something I was seriously looking at booking but neither I nor my travel companion are likely to have received our second dose by late July! And testing is only an alternative for those under 18.

The two-tier society is already here

 

[Jonny]

My view is that my medical details are none of a carrier's business, and I would have health insurance with a return-to-UK (which is what I would do if I had any travel planned). As far as I am concerned, that is all that a country-entry entry officer needs to know.

Yeah I agree.

We may dislike some cultures and find them not ideal for ourselves, but we don't go and impose them what to do just because we do it. Because at the end of the day it's their culture, their country and we have no right to tell them what they can and cannot do.

That's as maybe, but we are on the same planet and some things are universal, such as the moral right of a person to refuse to take unwanted ^medicinal^ substances into my body (pills/drops by mouth, nasal sprays, other orifice or injection) and anyone who coerces or supports the coercion of others is in the wrong, even if they feel it is part of their ^culture^. There are standards that are above every culture.

I'm done with wasting my life to appease other peoples inaccurate perception of safety.

I'm coming close to the same view as well. My view is that I am not going to put myself into extra jeopardy just so that someone else can feel safe.

 

[LAX54]

Sorry, I think you misunderstood me. Firstly, it is up to the foreign government whether they let you in or not. Yes, diplomacy might smooth this, and I can actually see that our government might now be realising that a ‘staycation’ for everybody might be impossible and/or very expensive.

The LFT I said referred to returning to the UK, when you arrived back. I think it would be absolutely ludicrous and impracticable that everyone should be subject to a test, but if they went down this route, at least the LFT test only takes 30 minutes to get a result, rather than forcing people to take a PCR test and quarantine themselves. It would still cause chaos.

If you go to a 'Green' Country..maybe Double Jabbed, and on the NHS app, all clear no tests (although the other Country may want one), no jabs, then a test before you go, and after you get back ? I have the NHS app that I use for appointments and repeat prescriptions, both my AZ vaccinations are on there already.

My view is that my medical details are none of a carrier's business, and I would have health insurance with a return-to-UK (which is what I would do if I had any travel planned). As far as I am concerned, that is all that a country-entry entry officer needs to know.



That's as maybe, but we are on the same planet and some things are universal, such as the moral right of a person to refuse to take unwanted ^medicinal^ substances into my body (pills/drops by mouth, nasal sprays, other orifice or injection) and anyone who coerces or supports the coercion of others is in the wrong, even if they feel it is part of their ^culture^. There are standards that are above every culture.



I'm coming close to the same view as well. My view is that I am not going to put myself into extra jeopardy just so that someone else can feel safe.

Will Health Insurance cover you for this ? as for refusal to have a jab, I assume if you needed one for a country that has Yellow fever for example, you would refuse? But then if you did, you would not be able to enter the Country !

 

[Jonny]

If you go to a 'Green' Country..maybe Double Jabbed, and on the NHS app, all clear no tests (although the other Country may want one), no jabs, then a test before you go, and after you get back ? I have the NHS app that I use for appointments and repeat prescriptions, both my AZ vaccinations are on there already.


Will Health Insurance cover you for this ? as for refusal to have a jab, I assume if you needed one for a country that has Yellow fever for example, you would refuse? But then if you did, you would not be able to enter the Country !

As for yellow fever-related checks, the question should be how long have they got away with breaking international law for?

 

[johnnychips]

When I went to Congo, I had to have a yellow fever jab, which was recorded on an internationally recognised piece of card. I asked my friend who lived there what would have happened if I had forgotten to bring it, and she said I could try and bribe the official, or go immediately to have it done by a doctor at the airport at an exorbitant price. I have no idea how long it takes to ‘kick-in’ like the three weeks for the Covid jab.

 

[Elwyn]

My view is that my medical details are none of a carrier's business, and I would have health insurance with a return-to-UK (which is what I would do if I had any travel planned). As far as I am concerned, that is all that a country-entry entry officer needs to know.

The carrier has no actual direct interest in your medical details. However they are often required to verify documentation by the authorities of the country you are travelling to and can be fined if they don't do that correctly. If they let you travel without a visa when you need one they get fined (plus they may have to fly you back again). Likewise there can be penalties for carrying an unvaccinated passenger when that is mandatory. So this information becomes their business by law.

This methodology operates all over the world. If you don’t like it, don’t travel.

 

[LAX54]

As for yellow fever-related checks, the question should be how long have they got away with breaking international law for?

In think it is International Law for such things, you also have to declare to the carrier/airline some of your medical state, some illnesses they will not carry you, and if you fail to tell them, and suffer some medical incident that is related, I think you may well be in a spot of bother.