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Covid restrictions abroad: updates & observations

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LAX54

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Yes he is.

Don't listen to me the chair of NERVTAG Sir Peter Horby has made it quite clear that


From Marr on Sunday yesterday.

Yes you could say some countries are over reacting but i would suggest that they've looked at Britain being well on top of Covid a few months ago with envy and then watched us inflict an own goal on this success and saying we aint going to make the same mistake.
and in a few weeks, regardless. they will be, no doubt in the exact same position we are! all the messages coming out of the UK, by Tom, Dick and Harry makes us seem worse than we are.
Maybe we should just stop 'creating' variants, and just let it roll, as we do with other viruses, that change all the time.

No more than their own citizens. This situation is becoming increasingly more concerning, not the variant, but the growing xenophobia spreading way quicker than delta (plus or not). Countries look at others and instantly assume that their citizens will constitute a threat to their own, just as some people did with the people of India when delta was first identified. And yet as has been shown in countries like Australia, the blumming thing will get through regardless of them "shutting" their borders. Nature does not recognise the lines we draw in the sand.

I said it a few weeks ago, shutting the door on India earlier would not have stopped it getting here. India is a huge country, often difficult to get around & so slamming the borders closed to them would only have driven similar scenes as seen in Bangladesh over the weekend. UK citizens in India would have bolted via all sorts of routes back home, only in smaller timescales which would have seen a lot arriving at once at the few terminals that receive flights from there, resulting in more chaos in immigration halls & quarantine hotels.

The other thing that concerns me is the global effective downplaying of the vaccines, constantly prohibiting people vaccinated from normal life, travel etc sends a message to the billions yet to have it that their governments might similarly restrict their lives post vaccination, and this could convince people not to bother, especially those in low risk groups. This is what happens when governments flip-flop between policy & panic.
Indeed, we would have had to close ALL Airports, Seaports, The Tunnel, to ALL traffic and ALL people, with no exceptions, and had we done that, it will still have got here
 
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joncombe

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Indeed, we would have had to close ALL Airports, Seaports, The Tunnel, to ALL traffic and ALL people, with no exceptions, and had we done that, it will still have got here

Exactly. And if we had done that we'd have to decide which of our population we were prepared to let starve given we are a net importer of food so no imports means insufficient food. I wonder if those shouting "close all borders" would be happy with that?
 

Jonny

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Is Boris personally responsible then ?

Which bit of advice from whom did he ignore ?

A lot of Countries seem to be reacting like headless chickens, what threat do fully vaccinated Brits pose to Hong Kongers ?

I think that sums up about the whole pandemic. And the powers that shouldn't be expect us to take treatments to protect others?
 

kristiang85

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From Sky:

The Government has announced that senior executives can temporarily leave quarantine in England if they are undertaking business activities which will bring 'significant economic benefit' to the economy.

Yet more evidence this is all a complete waste of time.
 

SouthEastBuses

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So I just returned from my great holiday in Spain, landed at Gatwick Airport.

They did not even check my proof of negative test or passanger locator form. Arriving at Gatwick was exactly like pre covid.
 

kristiang85

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So I just returned from my great holiday in Spain, landed at Gatwick Airport.

They did not even check my proof of negative test or passanger locator form. Arriving at Gatwick was exactly like pre covid.

Did you get it checked before boarding the plane, though?
 

Jonny

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Upset at the way we said some of the the residents could have a British Passport ?
More than likely, and the delta variant has been a convenient excuse. It also makes travel awkward for such holders as, while not banning Hong Kong to UK flights, it makes it more logistically difficult to run them.
 

Dr Day

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Have I understood this correctly?

Batches of AZ vaccine manufactured in India has not been approved by the EU, basically because those batches weren't sold to EU countries.
Batches of that vaccine have, however, been approved by the UK authorities and given to folk in the UK
Several EU countries (eg France) are relaxing entry restrictions (from the UK) for those that have been double-jabbed for non-essential travel
However, some of those countries (eg France) are saying 'unapproved' vaccines don't qualify.
The NHS England covid-19 app includes details of the batch numbers so 'the system' knows which vaccine has been administered.
Therefore anyone who happened to have received at least one of the India-manufactured AZ jabs won't be let into (say) France, without self-isolation etc?
 

big_rig

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Have I understood this correctly?

Batches of AZ vaccine manufactured in India has not been approved by the EU, basically because those batches weren't sold to EU countries.
Batches of that vaccine have, however, been approved by the UK authorities and given to folk in the UK
Several EU countries (eg France) are relaxing entry restrictions (from the UK) for those that have been double-jabbed for non-essential travel
However, some of those countries (eg France) are saying 'unapproved' vaccines don't qualify.
The NHS England covid-19 app includes details of the batch numbers so 'the system' knows which vaccine has been administered.
Therefore anyone who happened to have received at least one of the India-manufactured AZ jabs won't be let into (say) France, without self-isolation etc?
Good question! The BBC article below says that there were 5m ‘Indian made’ AZ doses in the UK of the 100m total, but that the NHS app brands them all the same so scanning the barcode doesn’t give anything away.

To say the ‘quiet bit out loud’ I would imagine that the EC have done this to keep Indians out of Europe for the time being until the delta variant inevitably becomes 100% dominant in Europe on its own accord anyway.



Will it matter if I want to go to the EU?​

If you received an AZ vaccination - and go to an EU country that accepts the NHS Covid Pass - your pass should show you received the Vaxzevria vaccine, the EU name for the AstraZeneca jab.
"All AstraZeneca vaccines given in the UK are the same product and appear on the NHS Covid Pass as Vaxzevria," the Department for Health says.
 

Dr Day

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All AstraZeneca vaccines given in the UK are the same product and appear on the NHS Covid Pass as Vaxzevria
Yes, but the information on the app also includes the batch number, which can be identified as 'India-made' or otherwise.
 

Bantamzen

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I think there might be some overthinking going on here. I very much doubt EU countries will be concerning themselves with what batches anyone has had, so long as the cert says doubled vaccinated +14 days I really can't see those countries opening up to us turning folk away.
 

Ediswan

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I think there might be some overthinking going on here. I very much doubt EU countries will be concerning themselves with what batches anyone has had, so long as the cert says doubled vaccinated +14 days I really can't see those countries opening up to us turning folk away.
They have been very pedantic about customs paperwork following Brexit. Plus airline check-in staff have been known to deny boarding to people who turn out to have had the right paperwork.
 

Bantamzen

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They have been very pedantic about customs paperwork following Brexit. Plus airline check-in staff have been known to deny boarding to people who turn out to have had the right paperwork.
I've heard of stories of this, but never seen anything actually proven. Quite often people who get turned away from flights with the "correct paperwork" actually don't have it, or are turned away for other reasons such as being drunk. That's not to say it doesn't happen, but from people I know who work in the industry the media like to run with sensationalist stories without always fact checking. But as things ramp up towards summer, and more flights head out I suspect normality at check-in / boarding gates will quickly return to normal. Many airlines will be back to running swift turnaround times, so won't be wanting long waits on the aprons.

As for receiving countries, well the same will apply. If you've got proof of vaccination or negative test, many airport staff will just wave you thorough with little more than a cursory glance & a grunt....
 

Ediswan

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I've heard of stories of this, but never seen anything actually proven. Quite often people who get turned away from flights with the "correct paperwork" actually don't have it, or are turned away for other reasons such as being drunk. That's not to say it doesn't happen, but from people I know who work in the industry the media like to run with sensationalist stories without always fact checking.
There have been numerous people who have not read the rules carefully enough. The case I had specifically in mind, the airline later admitted that the original test had been valid. Not having any luck finding that online at the moment though. I can only agree about media tendency to sensationalise.
 

Bantamzen

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There have been numerous people who have not read the rules carefully enough. The case I had specifically in mind, the airline later admitted that the original test had been valid. Not having any luck finding that online at the moment though. I can only agree about media tendency to sensationalise.
I seem to remember at least one incident was at EMA where Ryanair said that passengers didn't have proof of residency, which at the time was a requirement of travel. The passengers complained it wasn't clear on their website, but quite honestly information on international travel is available through gov.uk so I don't have a lot of sympathy in that case. I'm not aware of any cases of "The Wrong Vaccine" though, although it would make a good episode of Wallace & Gromit.... :lol:
 

notlob.divad

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With regards to the (SII) Serum Institute of India vaccines as detailed in the article below. It maybe be up to individual EU countries to allow people in or not, as whilst it is approved by the WHO (World Health Organistation) it is not approved by the EMA (European Medicines Agency). I think it was 5 million doses of this that the UK bought from SII.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...accine-covishield-face-extra-eu-travel-hurdle

If the NHS covid app passport is able to differentiate between batches from UK sources (EMA approved) and SII sources (not EMA approved) then individual countries may decide to allow the former and disallow the latter.
However; If as has been pointed out above and the NHS covid app does not differentiate between the two then all travellers from using the NHS app with Vaxzevria vaccines may find themselves amongst this ambiguity. It maybe something that is holding up negotiations between the EU and the UK on recipricol recognition of the passes.

The same issue arises for Hungarian residents who may have been vaccinated using the Sputnik V vaccine. This is not approved by the EMA so officially other EU countries are under no obligation to allow travellers who have been vaccinated using this cross their borders, whether it is currently enforced as such I don't know. Admitedly EU countries are under no obligation to permit 3rd country nationals such as British Citizens anyway.
 

Bantamzen

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With regards to the (SII) Serum Institute of India vaccines as detailed in the article below. It maybe be up to individual EU countries to allow people in or not, as whilst it is approved by the WHO (World Health Organistation) it is not approved by the EMA (European Medicines Agency). I think it was 5 million doses of this that the UK bought from SII.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...accine-covishield-face-extra-eu-travel-hurdle

If the NHS covid app passport is able to differentiate between batches from UK sources (EMA approved) and SII sources (not EMA approved) then individual countries may decide to allow the former and disallow the latter.
However; If as has been pointed out above and the NHS covid app does not differentiate between the two then all travellers from using the NHS app with Vaxzevria vaccines may find themselves amongst this ambiguity. It maybe something that is holding up negotiations between the EU and the UK on recipricol recognition of the passes.

The same issue arises for Hungarian residents who may have been vaccinated using the Sputnik V vaccine. This is not approved by the EMA so officially other EU countries are under no obligation to allow travellers who have been vaccinated using this cross their borders, whether it is currently enforced as such I don't know. Admitedly EU countries are under no obligation to permit 3rd country nationals such as British Citizens anyway.
I think some EU countries have already made their minds up. Spain & Greece seem to be happy to accept proof of vaccination regardless, and Greece are never going to turn away all those Russians travelling there every year who definitely won't have EU approved vaccines. And frankly, what does it matter what vaccine is inside you. If it reduces the risk of getting it and passing it on, who cares. Politics needs to keep its nose out of science now, and visa versa...
 

Jonny

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Frankly, the only reason they could justify even asking about vaccination status is a zero-covid policy. That is down there with the worst of the 20th Century totalitarian regimes (both Fascist and Communist). It becomes a potential domestic interference issue for the UK when a journey that is between two parts of the UK is practicable via continental Europe (it has been known, if faster or cheaper - I've heard of Southampton to Manchester via somewhere in Europe, if I remember correctly it was somewhere in Spain (Madrid or Mallorca??) on cost grounds (vis-a-vis a train fare) pre-pandemic and I would wager that some Scotland to SW England journeys may be faster).
 

SouthEastBuses

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I'm hoping to be able to go to somewhere on the Mediterranean again in August. Ideally I was thinking the Balearics, but I'm not yet booking until after the 15th of July review, if the Balearics stay on the green list.
 

TravelDream

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I'm hoping to be able to go to somewhere on the Mediterranean again in August. Ideally I was thinking the Balearics, but I'm not yet booking until after the 15th of July review, if the Balearics stay on the green list.

I'd worry less about the UK's green list and more about what foreign countries do.
At the moment it looks like Spain and Greece are currently the only places you can get to easily with just a test before arrival. Malta and Portugal require full vaccination with proof. Other countries like France and Italy are quarantining everyone.
However, cases are going to surge in the UK with things opening so restrictions are only going one way.

Though, on the UK list, the Balearics are currently seeing a surge in cases linked to Spanish students going there at the end of the semester and partying so will possibly go Amber.
 

westv

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I'm hoping to be able to go to somewhere on the Mediterranean again in August. Ideally I was thinking the Balearics, but I'm not yet booking until after the 15th of July review, if the Balearics stay on the green list.
I think you'll be fine - August 2022.
 

Butts

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Should the requirement for testing on return be removed from fully vaccinated people returning from Green Countries ?

To me this seems one of the biggest barriers to kickstarting International Travel.
 

island

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As confirmed this morning, from 19•JLY•21 English resident fully vaccinated adults and their minor children can treat amber countries as green. So the day 8 test and self-isolation are dropped.

The test before returning to the UK and the day 2 test remain in place, along with whatever requirements exist in the destination.

No change for the time being for returning from red countries nor for Welsh/Scottish residents (even if they pass through England).
 

TravelDream

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Should the requirement for testing on return be removed from fully vaccinated people returning from Green Countries ?

To me this seems one of the biggest barriers to kickstarting International Travel.

My perspective is quarantine is a much bigger hurdle. Tests are not too difficult if the price isn't crazy.

The travel industry agrees too.
Quote - 'Travel industry reaction to vaccination vacations: mainly "about time, too" plus a chorus of "now get rid of these expensive tests".'
 

Ediswan

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As confirmed this morning, from 19•JLY•21 English resident fully vaccinated adults and their minor children can treat amber countries as green. So the day 8 test and self-isolation are dropped.
Where does this leave those who are about to turn 18. Everything I have seen says that vaccines are not available to under 18s. Do they have to wait the 2-3 months it takes to become fully vaccinated before they can pass this test again ?
 

TravelDream

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Where does this leave those who are about to turn 18. Everything I have seen says that vaccines are not available to under 18s. Do they have to wait the 2-3 months it takes to become fully vaccinated before they can pass this test again ?

Up a certain creek without a paddle. As usual, the government has been talking about this for over a month, but they seem to have very little put into place.

Still nothing on recognising the EU passport so some other countries won't reciprocate and recognise the UK one - though very tourist dependent places like Spain, Portugal, Greece etc almost certainly will.

You should be able to book the vaccine for your 18th birthday and the second 8 weeks later, so there will be a 10 week gap. In some areas, you might be able to get the second dose quicker.
 
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