Covid restrictions abroad: updates & observations

[ainsworth74]

A reminder that this thread is not to discuss UK based restrictions, there's a small exception for the current requirements placed in visitors to the UK from China but the topic should broadly relate to restrictions in place overseas not focus on UK restrictions.

 

[kristiang85]

Thailand has reintroduced vaccine mandates for inbound travellers, it seems.

 

[matthewjohnson]

Booked a weekend in Madrid in March and nervously watching for any restrictions coming in. They certainly haven't been shy in bringing them in previously...

 

[nw1]

Because it's a democracy?

Remember also that the alternative is the Monster Raving Loony Republican Party.

But I do wonder whether the over-prolonged vaccine mandates for entry to the US (though at least they don't require boosters every 6 months) is symptomatic of the US federal apparatus' apparent hostility to foreigners in general, as evidenced through their border staff's attitude verging on paranoid at times.

 

[Mojo]

Thailand has reintroduced vaccine mandates for inbound travellers, it seems.

Thailand has scrapped this requirement just a couple of hours after it was introduced, with unvaccinated tourists being able to enter without discrimination.

 

[Cdd89]

SI2023/2 to implement the new testing requirement was made at 1:02pm today taking effect less than 15 hours hence.

It’s since been amended to try to clear up the definition of multiple connecting flights from China.

It’s very peculiar that they didn’t simply use the “have been in X in the last Y days” criterion, as used for everything else historically. Perhaps intentionally to avoid a return of the PLF.

 

[Ediswan]

SI2023/2 to implement the new testing requirement was made at 1:02pm today taking effect less than 15 hours hence.

I only just got round to reading that. Millimetre ? Every other use I can find of that form of specification refers to millilitre.

Pre-departure test criteria

4.—(1) For the purposes of regulation 3(4), a test complies with this regulation if—

(a)it is undertaken using a device which the manufacturer states has—

(i)a sensitivity of at least 80%,

(ii)a specificity of at least 97%, and

(iii)a limit detection of less than or equal to 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 copies per millimetre,

 

[Peterthegreat]

It looks like mask restrictions on German long distance trains will be lifted from 2 February,

Aktuelle gesellschaftliche Themen

Überblick zu Hintergründen, Analysen und Interviews bei tagesschau.de - die erste Adresse für Nachrichten und umfassende Berichte zu aktuellen Themen.

www.tagesschau.de

And the last remaining restrictions on local trains will be lifted by 3 February.

 

[Smidster]

Not abroad but need a quick rant.

I should be at a event tomorrow in the UK and after relaxing last year we seem to be back to all kinds of Covid nonsense with mandatory masks, health declarations and even the idea you should keep a log of anyone you have been near.

Very pleased I am only there for a day - completely saps any sense of fun or enjoyment - especially when mentally and emotionally you are already at the end of your tether.

 

[duncanp]

It looks like mask restrictions on German long distance trains will be lifted from 2 February,

Aktuelle gesellschaftliche Themen

Überblick zu Hintergründen, Analysen und Interviews bei tagesschau.de - die erste Adresse für Nachrichten und umfassende Berichte zu aktuellen Themen.

www.tagesschau.de

And the last remaining restrictions on local trains will be lifted by 3 February.

All in all, this is a good sign.

Despite all the scaremongering stories about the Kraken variant (I'm surprised the WHO haven't used the names Quatermass Variant or Dalek variant) life is slowly returning to normal, as in pre COVID normal.

I am more confident that we will get through this winter without any mandatory restrictions, and consequently there will be little justification for having restrictions in subsequent years.

 

[MikeWM]

We do appear to be in a bit of a lull again from the mask/China/Kraken propaganda, and all the figures are once again heading downwards in England *without* any measures having been introduced, which shouldn't be a surprise to anyone anymore.

I was a bit shocked to hear from a colleague yesterday that our US office has just reintroduced mandatory masks but they are located in Massachusetts, which is very heavily Democrat, and I really don't see such ludicrous nonsense creeping over to here.

 

[greyman42]

Not abroad but need a quick rant.

I should be at a event tomorrow in the UK and after relaxing last year we seem to be back to all kinds of Covid nonsense with mandatory masks, health declarations and even the idea you should keep a log of anyone you have been near.

Very pleased I am only there for a day - completely saps any sense of fun or enjoyment - especially when mentally and emotionally you are already at the end of your tether.

Where is this? I have not come across any restrictions/requirements in the circles i move in, if i was you i would give it a miss.

 

[midland1]

Where is this? I have not come across any restrictions/requirements in the circles i move in, if i was you i would give it a miss.

Yes I think the same do not go, tell them to get lost!

 

[Ladder23]

Yes I think the same do not go, tell them to get lost!

Glad I ain’t alone with the opinion, I never even had the patience for all this rubbish even at the start

 

[danm14]

Despite all the scaremongering stories about the Kraken variant (I'm surprised the WHO haven't used the names Quatermass Variant or Dalek variant) life is slowly returning to normal, as in pre COVID normal.

It should be borne in mind that the WHO didn't name this variant. They have been very clear that it does not warrant a new name, because it is an inconsequential subvariant of Omicron.

The name Kraken was given by a group of Zero-Covid enthusiast scientists on Twitter, who have been naming Omicron subvariants after Ancient Greek mythological creatures because they believe the WHO are intentionally trying to kill people by minimising Covid by refusing to name any more variants, or something along those lines.

One of the scientists has come under massive scrutiny because the name was clearly chosen to stoke fear - and has been obsessively tweeting for weeks that Kraken is nothing more than a randomly assigned Ancient Greek mythological creature name. (Although the fact that Kraken is not an Ancient Greek mythological creature at all would suggest that what he claims might be slightly less than the whole truth.)

 

[Razorblades]

they believe the WHO are intentionally trying to kill people by minimising Covid by refusing to name any more variants, or something along those lines.

Wow! That's a rather specialist rabbit-hole I never expected!

 

[gabrielhj07]

The name Kraken was given by a group of Zero-Covid enthusiast scientists on Twitter, who have been naming Omicron subvariants after Ancient Greek mythological creatures because they believe the WHO are intentionally trying to kill people by minimising Covid by refusing to name any more variants, or something along those lines.

I thought it was some sort of inside joke.

 

[P Binnersley]

Looking hopeful for Spain

The mandatory use of masks on public transport, about to be history . The Ponencia de Alertas, the group of experts that advises the Ministry of Health on Public Health, has agreed that it is time to eliminate the ban on going without a mask on buses, trains, subways and planes . As Vozpópuli has been able to confirm by sources at the Conference, the specialists made this decision after Christmas, when they verified the good situation in which hospitals and ICUs are located. To make the measure effective, it was proposed to wait a period to see how the virus behaves in China, a period that ends next week.

From "Voz Populi" newspaper (translated from Spanish)

 

[yorkie]

Looking hopeful for Spain

From "Voz Populi" newspaper (translated from Spanish)

Let's hope they confirm soon. I would like to book a trip there but am holding off for now.

Does anyone have an idea when they may finally see sense and stop picking on public transport users?

Seems that Saint Jacinda is paying the price of her "Zero COVID" policy....

She has now quit; good riddance!

Jacinda Ardern: New Zealand PM quits citing burnout

An emotional Jacinda Ardern says she no longer has "enough in the tank" after nearly six years as leader.

www.bbc.co.uk

...the latest opinion polls put her personal popularity at its lowest since she was elected, and approval of her party's performance similarly low.
In 2022, Ms Ardern told the BBC her declining popularity was the price her government had paid for keeping people safe from Covid-19.

The price was paid for having unsustainable and inappropriate policies in relation to Covid-19. Those of us who objected to harsh policies were right all along.

 

[Eyersey468]

I am mindful that the Irish government would repeatedly throughout 2020 and 2021 suggest that there were no current proposals to introduce a given restriction - very shortly before a meeting where they were fully aware that a proposal to introduce that restriction would be made and accepted.

That happened a lot in the UK as well, they said something wouldn't happen just before it did

 

[duncanp]

Let's hope they confirm soon. I would like to book a trip there but am holding off for now.

Does anyone have an idea when they may finally see sense and stop picking on public transport users?


She has now quit; good riddance!

Jacinda Ardern: New Zealand PM quits citing burnout

An emotional Jacinda Ardern says she no longer has "enough in the tank" after nearly six years as leader.

www.bbc.co.uk

The price was paid for having unsustainable and inappropriate policies in relation to Covid-19. Those of us who objected to harsh policies were right all along.

Surely people would be so grateful to Saint Jacinda for "..keeping them safe.." from COVID that they would be rushing to the polling booths to re-elect her party with an increased majority.

Oh, hang on..............

 

[nw1]

Let's hope they confirm soon. I would like to book a trip there but am holding off for now.

Does anyone have an idea when they may finally see sense and stop picking on public transport users?


She has now quit; good riddance!

Jacinda Ardern: New Zealand PM quits citing burnout

An emotional Jacinda Ardern says she no longer has "enough in the tank" after nearly six years as leader.

www.bbc.co.uk

The price was paid for having unsustainable and inappropriate policies in relation to Covid-19. Those of us who objected to harsh policies were right all along.

It's a shame so many on the left supported harsh Covid measures.

In other aspects I have a lot of respect for Ardern - she is certainly a lot better than enablers of reactionary right-wing populism like Trump and Johnson, neo-Thatcherites like Truss, or penny-pinching bean-counters like Sunak - but I do think her Covid policies, and those of many other world leaders with similar politics, were poorly thought out.

It is a shame that the left did not fully appreciate the economic and mental health impacts of overly-harsh Covid measures, and did not recognise that the fallout from Covid affected many times more people than Covid itself.

At the end of the day I guess she came to power at the wrong time. In a non-Covid era I am sure she would have been an exceptional leader.

 

[westv]

At the end of the day I guess she came to power at the wrong time. In a non-Covid era I am sure she would have been an exceptional leader.

Just a pity her accent was (to me ) quite grating.
I would also have said that if she had been a he and his accent was grating.

 

[yorkie]

It's a shame so many on the left supported harsh Covid measures.

Indeed it meant many of us felt 'politically homeless'; indeed I recall we had a thread about that.

In other aspects I have a lot of respect for Ardern - she is certainly a lot better than enablers of reactionary right-wing populism like Trump and Johnson, neo-Thatcherites like Truss, or penny-pinching bean-counters like Sunak - but I do think her Covid policies, and those of many other world leaders with similar politics, were poorly thought out.

It is a shame that the left did not fully appreciate the economic and mental health impacts of overly-harsh Covid measures, and did not recognise that the fallout from Covid affected many times more people than Covid itself.

At the end of the day I guess she came to power at the wrong time. In a non-Covid era I am sure she would have been an exceptional leader.

My criticism of her is purely in relation to Covid matters; it wasn't just that she got the policies wrong, but some of the things she was saying were absolutely absurd.

 

[greyman42]

It's a shame so many on the left supported harsh Covid measures.

Who are now all keeping their heads down and denying they ever supported such measures.

In other aspects I have a lot of respect for Ardern - she is certainly a lot better than enablers of reactionary right-wing populism like Trump and Johnson, neo-Thatcherites like Truss, or penny-pinching bean-counters like Sunak - but I do think her Covid policies, and those of many other world leaders with similar politics, were poorly thought out.

Give me the likes of Johnson and Sunak any time if it means getting our freedoms back sooner rather than much later.

Just a pity her accent was (to me ) quite grating.

Her accent was neither here nor there. It is what it is.

 

[scarby]

I feel that a complete lack of understanding about risk and how to manage it has led to a lot of the bad decision-making.

 

[Butts]

Currently in Warsaw pleased to report not a mask in site on Public Transport or any Venues.

Plenty of snow though !!

 

[P Binnersley]

Germany to drop mask mandate in trains and buses from 2nd February.

Germany will end the requirement to wear face masks on long-distance trains and buses from February 2 as the coronavirus pandemic loosened its grip on the country, authorities announced Friday.

Health Minister Karl Lauterbach made the announcement after consultations with ministers from Germany's 16 federal states, saying "the infection situation has stabilised."
Lauterbach, however, encouraged people to continue wearing masks voluntarily "on the basis of personal responsibility", adding "the virus should not be trivialised" and warning of potential longer-term impacts.

Some states (Lander) have already dropped the mask requirement which lead to masks being required in fast Intercity trains, but not slower local trains between the same towns.

This Rewboss video explains this better than I can.

 

[Eyersey468]

I feel that a complete lack of understanding about risk and how to manage it has led to a lot of the bad decision-making.

I agree

 

[duncanp]

One encouraging thing about all the countries who advocated a "Zero COVID" policy being proved wrong is that it will be very unlikely that there will be a COVID style lockdown in any future pandemic.