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As with the Kent variant, travel restrictions will only slow the spread but that's worth it now as the vaccination programme is going up a gear thanks to deliveries and slowing the variant spread by a few weeks that aren't economically sensitive is all win.
I'm still optimistic about France being open to tourism as of July, I'm not so optimistic about you Brits being let out to play in Europe if vaccine uptake here is too low for comfort.
This is why I'm confident about a continued vacinatoncatch up if there are enough willing candidates:
The same will happen with this, in a few weeks they will let us all in
So a predominately political decision then? Can't say I blame them though given the arse we've been recently.
They had already planned to allow us to sue the NHS app as a Vaccine
passport.
Is that so? Not doubting you - just haven't seen it in the media I read. Do you have a reference? Thanks! 🙂
Have to see how the idiots in Westminster behave and how this impacts.
Is that so? Not doubting you – just haven’t seen it in the media I read. Do you have a reference? Thanks! 🙂
NHS app is already able to be used as vaccine passport
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/demonstrating-your-covid-19-vaccination-status-when-travelling-abroad
I was optimistic about French holidays in August, but new variants change that
Europe got their fingers burnt by Kent variant, I think they'll be extra cautious this time
NHS app is already able to be used as vaccine passport
Thanks 🙂
How will the app know? (Assuming it's the t&t app) I thought it was anonymous with coded data handshakes.
The standard nhs app has the covid passport, not the nhs covid app
Hopefully we ain't allowed in to Europe, we've still got a holiday in the Netherlands that rolled over from last year, and I have no interest in going.
If we can't go I'll get a refund, otherwise bugger it, it ain't that much money.
Starting to see French and Dutch number plates here in the Pyrenees now and the Campsite opens next week . . . .
And that's Portugal oot!
Will be the first of many, in both directions.
Speaking to a few people in the pub beer garden last night on other tables opened my eyes to how many think that being vaccinated means they can go wherever they want without any need to isolate out there or when they return regardless of other considerations. I've got no issues with people going abroad but if they do they must be prepared to obey the rules and accept any quarantine or isolation periods they need to do. But if you start to bitch and moan about the rules, even if they change when you're away, then you don't get my sympathy at all. The risk of a local outbreak anywhere leaving you stranded is very real and well publicised, if you don't accept that risk don't go abroad.
We're going to have a summer of storied about everyone rushing for planes/ferries/trains every time the rules change aren't we.
We’re going to have a summer of storied about everyone rushing for planes/ferries/trains every time the rules change aren’t we.
ironically its that rush to get the the plane etc that crams even more people into smaller spaces & timeframes making spreading more likely!
We’re going to have a summer of stories about everyone rushing for planes/ferries/trains every time the rules change aren’t we.
Yep.
It's all very odd, a few days ago they were talking about which countries will "go green" this time, now it seems no counties will join the green list and Portugal (the only Green EU country) is going Amber, but no explanation as to why, it's 7 day figures have rising slightly, which you would expect in a country that is lifting restrictions, as are ours.
I can't help but think it's more to do with the EU leaving the UK off it's safe list yesterday.
It just looks like a trade war, not a Covid thing per se.
I wonder if the rates in Portugal are increasing due to the influx of people for the Champs League Final?
I wonder if the rates in Portugal are increasing due to the influx of people for the Champs League Final?
Given that everyone needs do a pre and post flight covid test (for the return journey) it should be fairly easy to find out - at least for those who travelled over for a long weekend, and are not still out there on a multiweek trip.
I wonder if the rates in Portugal are increasing due to the influx of people for the Champs League Final?
Possibly, more likely, just like ours and most of the rest of the world easing restrictions they're rising 'naturally'.
It great if you can loosen restrictions and still have falling numbers, but at some point they're going to bottom out and rise again, as ours did a month ago, the benefit of the vaccines is that even with rising numbers, the number of people needing hospital admission or dying doesn't rise.
were the fans required to do lateral flow or PCR tests?
A single lateral flow test can be 50/50. Mulitple LF tests are a more reliable indicator if you have it
Should be a pcr test for all flights to and from almost all destinations as I understand it?
(edit, looks like I'm wrong on that, I thought fit to fly was a pcr test)
The criteria for green list countries looks really strange...
How come Malta isnt on the green list?
Really low new cases and one of the highest % of population in the world vaccinated...
Where's the science?
The criteria for green list countries looks really strange…
How come Malta isnt on the green list?
Really low new cases and one of the highest % of population in the world vaccinated…
Where’s the science?
Malta is in the EU, we're in the middle of a trade, erm disagreement. You might think that Covid would trump Trade, but here we are with Delta as a dominant strain because Boris wanted a trade deal with India.
Was very busy out of East Midlands Airport yesterday evening- was that Portugal return flights?
Any one know how to track down a PCR test provider in France, that has information in English?
Any one know how to track down a PCR test provider in France, that has information in English?
For returning to the UK?
I was in Morzine last week, it seems most towns have a designated pharmacy that will offer you a test. LFTs are free (in MOrzine at least) at list and come with a certificate that good enough for 'Border Force' (absolutely stupid name) and it multi-lingual, although Border 'Force' will accept them in English, Spanish and French.
Ah that's useful to know. I assumed it had to be a PCR test to come back into the UK?
Debating whether I want to spend and additional 640 quid to go on holiday to France.
Ah you're quite correct, just needs to be a lateral flow test. Interesting that you need a PCR to enter France but only a lateral flow to enter the UK.
you will need a PCR within 2 days of arrival in the UK (in addition to your lateral flow test)
Ah you’re quite correct, just needs to be a lateral flow test. Interesting that you need a PCR to enter France but only a lateral flow to enter the UK.
You only need an LFT to enter both countries, has to be taken within 48 hours of arrival.
They make more sense for the traveler because 1) they’re a little cheaper in the UK (free in France) and results come much quicker.
You’ll still need a day 2 & 8 for your return. The government’s own service to find the best day2&8s has been utterly corrupted by chancers offering tests for £30 only for you to click it and find out it’s £80 for delivery or it’s a special offer for September (and sold out) or whatever. You’re better off with google.
Just canned my Alps trip.
So thinking of a trip in September but not sure where yet or doing what.
Depending on what the next few weeks hold. If i go to Switzerland what would be the best way to handle the tests before coming back? Would be by road.
(free in France)
You have to pay after 7/7
Our gouvernment decided it was unfair French tourists having to pay in foreign countries and foreigners getting free tests in France so now France charges too. Cheaper than most countries though. PCR 49e, antigénique 29e.
‘Border Force’ (absolutely stupid name)
The term "border force" come straight from the UK:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_Force
Duinrell in Netherlands have just let us once again carry our holiday to next year, they didn't really need to. 👍🏻
Duinrell in Netherlands have just let us once again carry our holiday to next year, they didn’t really need to. 👍🏻
Excellent service. How have you gone on with the ferry?
We are just finishing a week in Orkney rather than our usual European trip.
We have been blessed with the weather, but it has genuinely been a joy.
Accommodation (Airbnb) has been about what we would pay in France or Portugal (around £1200 per week), and the shops have the expected island tax, but eating out has been cheaper. There is also shit loads to do which has kept us all, including 2 teenagers occupied and happy. Think of it as being like Cornwall 50 years ago or like Pembrokeshire 30 years ago; lorious uncontested beaches and scenery.
Should have been at Lake Garda this week and then the Italian Alps, they have allowed us to move it on to 2022 but I do feel sorry for them.
Tunnel have been great and we got that moved on.
We have been roaming round North Wales and hitting the trails, weather has been hot so its helped.
Moved over to the Malverns for a few days and then will probably head home
Not given up on Finale at the end of September yet.
Got a couple of trips up North to come between now and then.
Excellent service. How have you gone on with the ferry?
I'll email DFDS tomorrow OTS. 🙏🏻
Uh Oh!! Apparently my Second AZ Jab was one of the imported Indian Az ones & the EU haven’t approved that batch , so my jabs aren’t EU compliant!
Reluctantly delayed our Greek Sailing until 2022. Whilst I feel my personal risk is low, the chances of being stuck in Greek quarantine for 14 days are not.
I think you're on the money Dan -
Looking at the infection rates in France/Italy/etc - they're really low right now (around 1000 per day) i think as soon as we put them all on the green list all these destinations are going to slap a quarantine requirement on all incoming Brits.
Does anyone really think other nations will be happy to receive Brits coming from a country with the projected 50k+ infections per day over the summer?
I think that is the bit that people haven't realised yet. Why on earth would any country want a bunch of potential plague rats coming over for a holiday.
Delta variant is everywhere now - so makes no difference....
EU is several weeks behind us and will have the same wave
Im off to France for 4 weeks over the summer so bring on the no quarantine policy!
Agreed that it will be everywhere but adding more infected people into the mix is never going to help.
I think that is the bit that people haven’t realised yet. Why on earth would any country want a bunch of potential plague rats coming over for a holiday.
Recent evidence from Portugal backs this up as well - Portugal go on the UK green list - two weeks later infection rates start going up - Portugal comes back off the green list...
Does anyone know about testing in Italy - currently there's 5day quarantine with test at end in place then obviously for return flights too.
I'm hopeful my flights are going to be bumped and we can shift everything to next year but that's looking increasingly unlikely.
Trying to find somewhere local to where we're staying is proving difficult though I assume that's because my googling is in English to be honest. Of course depending on the quarantine requirements I may have to arrange accommodation elsewhere anyhow.
Don't know much about Italy but hopefully they might remove the Quarantine like Germany did last week.
To be honest whilst it's inconvenient, the quarantine bothers me a lot less than using the airports!
Is there any clarity around the criteria for which countries are on red/green/amber lists?
Is it their covid rate, or their rate of increase, or 'variants of concern'? Or is it just bojo/uk.gov make it up as they go along?
My wife has still got her booking for Netherlands in late August, but that's looking at least a ballache and at worst impossible; so she was thinking why not just pick a country with similar infection rates to UK, that'll probably be a goer? Personally I think EU hols are still off the cards.
We're doing week long house swap with her sister, early august, we go up to Markinch, they come down to Twickenham. Last week of school hols we're at Fritton lake in Norfolk; to be honest I'm not missing going abroad for hols, there's plenty of nice places around the UK
For my Greek sailing, the worst bit is the kids having to do a LFT every day as we move islands. Any positive would be a 14 day Greek quarantine. Considering they are both in plague pits (sorry, secondary school) until the day we go, that’s too high a risk for me , & the charter company Nautilus Yachting , have allowed us to roll it.
My mate with a canal boat has offered me it for the week instead, so it’s a no brainer.
Not good for my day job with BA though, as this will be happening a lot.
We're still debating what to do. We've a house in southwest France which we haven't been to for around a year.
We want to get back there to check it's OK and do some basic maintenance. The water is all drained down so hope that will be alright when we eventually return.
We've got someone who does basic grass cutting but there's a load more that needs bush whacking around the trees and big shrubs. We understand that it's got very high in those areas.
If it wasn't for looking after the house we wouldn't bother.
I think that is the bit that people haven’t realised yet. Why on earth would any country want a bunch of potential plague rats coming over for a holiday.
Delta variant is everywhere now – so makes no difference….
EU is several weeks behind us and will have the same wave
This is my concern, we're supposed to me heading to France on the tunnel 4 weeks today, the UK is reporting 32k cases a day, that'll be 64k in 6 days, and who knows where it will go after that, especially after the 19th. The press are talking about 100k a day being massive, I think it'll be higher, but it's not the 100k people who've been tested, it's the hundreds of thousands of vaccinated people who are asymptotic and untested who are enjoying 'normal life' again.
Yes, the EU is going "let it rip" at some point in the near future when they're ready, but they've got to be looking at us closely, France especially, 12m Brit visited France in 2017, even if 6m Brits are dying for a Holiday or holding onto deferred bookings all turn up this Summer whilst we're going through this massive post-vaccine 3rd wave, even with some testing in place how many of them will have Covid whilst they're in France? 100k, 200k a million? How many of them are going to be unvaccinated kids? half, a third? How good are Holiday makers are social distancing? Based on my experiences of being the Alps two weeks ago, not very good.
Yes they've got Delta, and yes they're going to remove restrictions soon, but after today the trickle of tourists will turn into a flood from a country that's probably going to have one of the highest concentrations of Covid carriers in the world.
I hope we get to go, the risk to us is minimal, less then being at home frankly, but I could hardly complain if Macron looks at the numbers and puts the UK on their red list for a few months.
But what do I know? They may well put us on the green list, madder shit has happed during covid.
but I could hardly complain if Macron looks at the numbers and puts the UK on their red list for a few months.
French General Election next April - which approach works better for the home crowd? (genuine question - as the French are also trying to balance economy vs health)
However they're a couple of months behind us with the vaccination rates - so they're going to want to try and supress a summer wave as long as possible.
I think the French people will want "Liberté" the vibe I got was they accepted lockdown restrictions, but they really, really don't like them. Whether that extents to Tourists I don't know.
Economically they're the most visited Country in the world for Tourism and we're their biggest market and Macron got a lot of flack in that 7-10 period a few weeks ago when he put the UK on the Red list.
Will be sending my 14yr old daughter to Russia by herself (With team) for 2 weeks in the middle of august as part of a competition. Just sorting the Visa at the moment. What could go wrong?
She could get abducted by the russian mafia, sold into slavery working as a call-girl and be hooked on crack ?
But i have a certain set of skills......
At the moment, France are classing anyone who had an AZ Indian made vaccine as unvaccinated.
I’m not sure if that means you can’t enter France, or you’d be made to quarantine.
We are supposed to be driving to Austria later this month (Dover/Calais ferry), we won’t be stopping at all in France but unsure whether it’s going to be possible (we both had first jabs from the listed Indian batches)
At the moment, France are classing anyone who had an AZ Indian made vaccine as unvaccinated.
I’m not sure if that means you can’t enter France, or you’d be made to quarantine.
We are supposed to be driving to Austria later this month (Dover/Calais ferry), we won’t be stopping at all in France but unsure whether it’s going to be possible (we both had first jabs from the listed Indian batches)
My made in India first jab didn't stop me visiting France. I don't believe France or the EU have actually said this, just the UK press assumed it and ran with it, it's "something and nothing" really.
The Spanish border was on TF1 news, Barcalona is nearly as bad as the UK for Delta but the gendarmes were being lenient letting one guy with only one jab through in front of the cameras. He commented there are only enough of them to check one in three cars.
We've been politely asked not to visit Spain but there's no ban. We've also been asked in sterner terms to get vaccinated.
We're an Amber country for France currently. There is a requirement for 7 days isolation on arrival in France for Amber list residents without a vaccination record. Details are here
France are talking about moving the UK to their green list rather than red - BBC News
Little Miss Cloudnine is due to go to a World Championships in Denmark on the 29th July..
They are currently allowing double vaccinated travellers from the UK with no quarruntine on arrival who are fully vaccinated plus child under 15 to travel with parent..
Everything is booked and now its squeeky bum time waiting to see if the whole of the UK gets put on the plague list and barred from the whole of Europe..
Little bit more info on the entry requirements to France and the Indian made AZ vaccine, hopefully there’ll be a definitive answer soon
@oldtennisshoes - word from DFDS today, as the Netherlands have gone back into restrictions, they're happy to give us credit to book for 2022.
Super stuff. 👍🏻
A week before my BA flights to Greece, I applied for & received a voucher valid for 2 years. Thats on a cheapie non-refundable ticket, which is pretty decent IMHO. The flight is still going and I could have gone but chose not to.
Aye, good service that.
@nobeerinthefridge - excellent. Brittany Ferries still have £150 of my cash which I suspect I may never see again. Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.
Not sure our planned trip to Mallorca in October is looking likely though.
On some of expat facebook groups, various people are saying they've travelled via eurotunnel to france with the indian vaccine batch number without any issues.
I'm going to take a punt that it will be fine...
On some of expat facebook groups, various people are saying they’ve travelled via eurotunnel to france with the indian vaccine batch number without any issues.
I’m going to take a punt that it will be fine…
As above, I travelled to France with the 'wrong' AZ jab no problem.
I'm hoping to hear from Welsh Gov tomorrow I can repeat the trick next month.
As it is looking more likely, what is the best way to sort out the pre departure test. I will be driving down to Switzerland. Which means one test to get out of the UK, which I can sort locally. One test on day 2 when I get back which shouldn't be an issue.
But I also need a test before I start the return journey and it is this test I could do with some advice about.
dont know whats required for switxerland specfically...
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/how-to-find-the-cheapest-private-coronavirus-tests-for-travel/#uk
order the test, take it with you, arrange a video call appointment, get certificate
I'm driving the family to Denmark next week via the Harwich Zeebruge ferry. Not particularly looking forward to it but my wife hasn't seen her Danish family for a year. So much mixed info about what is required by the the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark.
She's stressing big time as infection rates are rocketing here in East cambs having been relatively lucky before.
Young kids at school and nursery, although not today as we're all isolating yet again as everytime the youngest gets the typical nursery cough and runny nose we have to get her tested.
Holiday booked in Madeira for early September just been cancelled, only reason give was "due to covid".
Slightly surprised as its on the green list but at least we have been offered a range of options including full refund.
Sat in the airport lounge waiting for Ryanair flight to majorca, fingers crossed it doesn't go red before we return!
fingers crossed it doesn’t go red before we return!
Don't worry about getting back from mallorca, it's getting in that might be a problem by the time you land as the blame for a global Nth wave is being lain at Boris' feet.
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/coronavirus-news-live-covid-vaccines-b1885144.html
flight to majorca
Meant to be there next month, haven’t been to our place since 2019 so would like to go and make sure it is OK, but cases there are going up quickly so Spanish govt may impose more restrictions and Bosser may turn it red. We’re vaccinated, kids aren’t though. watching closely before deciding…
I’m hoping to hear from Welsh Gov tomorrow I can repeat the trick next month.
3 days later in the topsy turvy world of international travel, our First Minister, begrudgingly agreed to allow quarantine free travel for the double jabbed and their kids, France made noises about making the UK Green on their list and 'sources' hinted the same for the UK and why not, our cases are higher, but expectedly so and France is really flying with their jabs now, a cautious but reasonable position.
fast forward a few days and the Telegraph are reporting Ministers are having an urgent review meeting on Monday to discuss putting France, and possibly the whole of mainland Europe on the rest list due to a rise of the Beta strain, that old 'South Africa' variant we all forgot about between Alpha and Delta.
We're seeing Dutch, German, Belgium and French visitors here in Ainsa, but I've only seen 1 UK car reg. plate so far.
Temps are averaging 30 degrees from lunchtime 'til dark - we're cooking, but it's nice 🙂