Either way lets hope everyone does everything they need to as quickly as possible to get things back to some kind of normality soon!
Amen to that.
Mandatory 7 day french quarantine shortly for UK visitors
Going to end any French Alps trips unfortunately for now!
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-57256859
10 days according to the independent.
Mandatory 7 day french quarantine shortly for UK visitors
Going to end any French Alps trips unfortunately for now!https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-57256859
/blockquote>Yep,
That's a complete kick in the knackers.
I was planning to travel to Morzine for Pass'Portes in a month's time. Put the work in to get both jabs in time for travel (not especially hard in Wales), got my head around all the testing requirements, got the nod from work to WFH unless it was an emergency (my job is exempt from Isolation, but WFH unless it was an emergency seemed the most Rule 1 solution). bounced the Accom over from last year, even overcame Easyjet cancelling our flights, then this.
Some people, who probably don't know more than anyone else are saying it's a bit of Political games between the UK and France, a bit of tit for tat over quarantine rules, but I don't see it, France is months behind the UK with vaccine roll-out and a new more contagious strain could see them back in lock-down before they can catch up.
I hope it's resolved before August when I'm due to go with my family, but who knows... I've got to pay about £1k for the accom for that in a few weeks, I've got Covid insurance, but it explicitly states quarantine isn't a reason to claim, which makes it mostly useless.
Yeah look who knows what the UK Government are really up to, it could be very transparent and honest, there is probably alot of politics involved or maybe no one has any idea what to do. But all we can go off is what the Governments of each country tell us.
Having looked at not only the UK but other countries, whilst they might offer this or that in terms of rules, the realities are far more murky.
Country A, might way "we'll allow Country B, C, D, E, F," etc, because those Countries have lower rates, better vaccine roll-out, etc. But those Countries look at Country A with it's worse stats, on in our case scary and potentially worse version of Covid and say "no way".
I'm sure there's lots of discussions going on behind closed doors, especially between the UK and France, we're their biggest market for tourism, and we need trade with them, and often money is more valuable then people.
I wouldn't be surprised at all if the government are purposely restricting travel abroad so the exchequer can scoop up a load of VAT from people holidaying in the UK.
I am a cynic of this government though, but can't think of a reason why i should be?!? 😉
Some people, who probably don’t know more than anyone else are saying it’s a bit of Political games between the UK and France, a bit of tit for tat over quarantine rules, but I don’t see it, France is months behind the UK with vaccine roll-out and a new more contagious strain could see them back in lock-down before they can catch up.
I can't see the main driver for this being political games either.
As you say - France is 2-3 months behind us with vaccines, which means they'll be at the point we are now by the end of Aug.
As much as they'd like our tourists over there spending money, another lockdown during the height of the holiday season would be catastrophic economically so i can understand their actions.
I think anyone travelling abroad for the next 6-9 months needs to expect things to change very quickly in their host country, regardless of the UKs traffic light system.
I wouldn’t be surprised at all if the government are purposely restricting travel abroad so the exchequer can scoop up a load of VAT from people holidaying in the UK.
I am a cynic of this government though, but can’t think of a reason why i should be?!? 😉
Welsh Gov aren't really hiding it, they're asking us to Holiday in Wales, not even the UK.
It's a nice idea I suppose, if you don't enjoy travel, at least in part to experience different cultures etc, but I'm currently looking at a Static caravan in Cornwall, it's just a caravan in a park, a plastic portacabin with some MDF beds - it's £4k for a week. Sod that.
If we don't go sailing in Greece for whatever reason, I won't be booking anything in the UK. We will do lots of local things instead.
a plastic portacabin with some MDF beds – it’s £4k for a week. Sod that.
Price gouging to the max
MDF Beds? Sounds like a crappy re-brand!
To update you on the French side of this new measure. It takes effect from May 31st (Monday), no end date, or date for reviewing the decision has been given.
The quarantine lasts for 7 days and there is no test to release option.
June 9th is the date the French had given to allow non EU tourism to commence, the UK was on the list. We would expect clarification before then as to how long this will be in place for, as obviously it causes significant disruption to many industries and sectors.
Can I put my smug face on and say in Feb we booked a bungalow that sleeps 6 in Cornwall, within walking distance of the sea and pub for just over £800 - and it also has a sex-pond! 🍆🤣👙🛀
It is first week in Sept though just after kids have gone back.
Cottages out of school hols are still out there - this for example...
https://www.sykescottages.co.uk/cottage/Cornwall-Rosemerryn-Fm/Waters-Edge-1054731.html?_hsearch=21052760afb0c56e6bd&_price=895&_display=1#duration=7&start=2021-09-03&changeover=5
No hope if you need school holiday dates.
And this is a grand at the end of June...
https://www.sykescottages.co.uk/cottage/Cornwall-Redruth/Medlar-Cottage-1013529.html?_hsearch=21052760afb0c580baf&_price=1002&_display=1#duration=7&start=2021-06-25&changeover=5
Still hoping that by mid august things are looking a little better, 10days booked in Verbier.
France will impose a compulsory quarantine on travellers arriving from the UK because of growing concerns over the spread of the Indian variant of the coronavirus, the government’s spokesman has said.
Perhaps this will be the kick up the arse the government need to put proper border restrictions in place. Its all very well vaccinating the whole of the UK in superfast time so our hospitals are not overloaded but if that means we relax other rules which bring in variants and allow them to spread other countries will understandably not want us going there. Perhaps the home secretary should be using the considerable manpower of the Border Agency to check quarantine protocols are being followed rather than rounding up people who have probably been in this country for years, in the hope of sending them back to a country where covid is probably a far bigger risk.
I find it impossible to believe that there isn’t already community transmission of the Indian variant in the EU. With that in mind , stopping vaccinated, negative test U.K. visitors sounds political rather than scientific.
I find it impossible to believe that there isn’t already community transmission of the Indian variant in the EU. With that in mind , stopping vaccinated, negative test U.K. visitors sounds political rather than scientific.
It's been on my mind a lot, trying to guess if/when France might lift the quarantine rules, I don't feel too positive about it.
I think because of their slower vaccine roll-out and a more cautious approach to it generally by French people their recovery / road map is far shakier than ours and it's based on the Kent variant being the dominant strain.
So far we've been able to lift restrictions and maintain falling transmission, hospitalisations and deaths, but it seems that it only took a few weeks for the Kent variant, already more contagious than the first one, to be replaced by the even more contagious Indian variant and cases and hospital admissions are starting to climb again, this was expected, but it's higher than was expected.
As of a week ago France had 80 cases of the Indian variant in 50ish different sites. I doubt it's controllable, but they will have to try to do anything they can to slow the spread to get their vaccine numbers up first. We're finding thousands a day.
In 2017 13m Brits visited France, who knows what those figures would look like in 2021 if France was put on the green list and their was no quarantine? There's a lot of pent up desire for travel and I think it would be enough to over-come the numbers of people who are reluctant to travel, but even if they insist on a clear PCR / full vaccine of the millions who'll travel there will be still thousands of people coming to France carrying the Indian strain, probably more than the number of people who travelled from India to the UK to bring it here.
Macron must be under huge pressure, the Tourism industry in France is huge, they're the most visited country in the World and we're their biggest market (or possibly second). Millions of job rely on it and it represents 8% of their GDP, but on the other hand they've not yet come out of their 3rd national lockdown, for 2 months they've been under a 7pm curfew plus all the things we've been doing. He seems to be saying they can save the Summer for French People, or save the Summer Season for UK (and the other countries on the ban list) tourists, but not both.
If the UK continues to reduce its numbers, they might reverse it, but our own lockdown lifting plans will make numbers rise, not fall and even Johnson is starting to hint the June 21st date is in question.
It won't matter, but Boris delaying adding India to the red list because of trade talks is going to have serious ramifications, not only for Holidays, or even the June 21st date, but real ones like more Hospitalisation and deaths.
France is 2-3 months behind us with vaccines,
But catching up fast. The UK programme slowed down from the end of March:
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/vaccinations
Click on cumulative. Whilst the French vaccination rate continues to rise as deliveries rise:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1195620/vaccines-again-covid19-france/
By the mid-Summer both countries will be running out of candidates for vaccination if you look at vaccine delivery schedules. How many young people will be reluctant to be vaccinated remains to be seen and is IMO what will dictate which borders are open to tourists. If French uptake is as low as the pessimists predict then we could be red listed, however if the uptake observed while vaccination was age-group limited is repeated in the rest of the population we'll be fine. Junior, aged 23, got his first dose of Pfizer yesterday just by joining a queue.
But catching up fast. The UK programme slowed down from the end of March:
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/details/vaccinations
Click on cumulative. Whilst the French vaccination rate continues to rise as deliveries rise:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/1195620/vaccines-again-covid19-france/
/blockquote>I think france will start to slow significantly - there is a huge amount more cynisism about vaccinations generally there, especially amongst the young who are less affected by covid, as well as pushback against anything the government suggests you do. The vaccinations will roll quickly until everyone who wants one has one, but I think that maybe in the ~60%ish ratio of the population, rather than the >90% we're seeing here
Vaccination rates in the U.K. haven’t dropped at all. In fact 7 day average of jabs given is on an upward trajectory. We are currently averaging over 600,000/day for the first time.
France looks a different story if you look at fully vaccinated as percentage of population. Divergent slopes are going to take a while to catch up....
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I deliberately used first shots graphs rather than second shots graphs as they are a far better indicator of where we'll be by mid-Summer. In Europe where the vast majority are vaccinated with Pfizer/moderna then catch up on second doses will be faster than first doses as the time between doses is shorter than with AZ which is more widely used in the UK.
And yes, predictive graphs and vaccine dose delivery dates become meaningless if the population stops turning up at vaccination centers.
Just to counterbalance the "MDF Beds" post, I stayed at one of their Morzine chalets in 2019 and it was ace. Friendly staff, awesome food and great bike/mechanic facilities. Would recommend.
I know what data you deliberately used - I'm just not convinced about the catching up fast bit. Don't forget a lot of our new (younger) 1st doses will be other vaccines, and there is a push to shorten the 2nd dose gap where possible.
It will be very interesting to see at what level different countries flatten out.
Looking forward to French Alps 2022! (hopefully not having to bounce it for a third time.....)
I’m just not convinced about the catching up fast bit.
Well compare these numbers (click "suivi de la vaccination"):
https://dashboard.covid19.data.gouv.fr/suivi-vaccination?location=FRA
with the UK numbers I linked two posts ago for now and 2.5 months ago.
Europe is recieving lots of deliveries and using them, hence the current catch up. Fingers crossed they quickly end up in people's arms rather than sitting in a fridge while the government resorts to US tactics such as freebies and cash handouts to get people into vaccination centers.
Europe is recieving lots of deliveries and using them, hence the current catch up. Fingers crossed they quickly end up in people’s arms rather than sitting in a fridge while the government resorts to US tactics such as freebies and cash handouts to get people into vaccination centers.
I've been reading a lot of French news sites the last couple of days, it seems recently at least, it's perhaps not so much as case of reluctance to get Jabbed, but poor, compartmentalised booking processes (well, it's probably no coincidence 'bureaucracy' is a French word) they've recently opened up vaccines to the under 50s, like here it crashed the system, but theirs sounds even more chaotic. Supposedly, like trying to buy festival tickets, you spend a few hours mashing refresh on a web page, and if you're lucky you might get a slot, only then do you discover where it is, and 3-5 hour journeys are not uncommon.
Anyway, some young lad over there has managed to come up with a website that manages to pull in data from all the various regional / private vaccine booking systems to give people a single, mostly efficient way of booking, they gave him the Order of Merit for it.
I love France, and the French people, they has a wonderful '**** you' way of looking at things, which somehow it's as aggressive as '**** you' sounds, or it is more like 'the customer is always wrong' type of thing, anyway, so it's pain when you want to do something and they're closed for 3 hours in the middle of the day, but I understand people want to spend time with their families etc, but it seem ill suited to mass vaccination programmes.
The seven day average seems to be about 500k vaccinations per day in France and 600k in the UK if I am reading the data correctly
Supposedly, like trying to buy festival tickets, you spend a few hours mashing refresh on a web page, and if you’re lucky you might get a slot, only then do you discover where it is, and 3-5 hour journeys are not uncommon.
I was just chatting to a younger colleague here in Bristol. She has now booked both jabs: the website tells her that Jab 1 is in Weston Super Mare, Jab 2 is in Bath.
Jab 2 is, also, about 11 weeks before Jab 1.
So we're doing reasonably well, but this kind of stuff is not unknown here too!
There's a system and it works. But sometimes using it requires thought. I went along for two x-rays yesterday: suspected pneumonia and a neck x-ray. At reception the person trained in obstruction said I couldn't have both because ... bollox... and I'll book you in for second appointment tomorrow. In that case I'll have the neck x-ray I said. When I walked out I had a look in the envelope and sure enough there were both neck and chest x-rays - what medical professional would not immediately do a chest x-ray for someone with suspected pneumonia? Happily it's not pneumonia, just bad bronchitis. There is no place in the world I'd rather be ill than France.
The quacks get reported because "râler" is a fun national pass time, the around 500 000 vaccinations a day suggest that overall the system is working pretty well. As I said earlier, junior is only 23 and found a vaccination slot yesterday.
3 hours is an exageration, it's rarely more than 2 in these parts.
I was just chatting to a younger colleague here in Bristol. She has now booked both jabs: the website tells her that Jab 1 is in Weston Super Mare, Jab 2 is in Bath.
Jab 2 is, also, about 11 weeks before Jab 1.
So we’re doing reasonably well, but this kind of stuff is not unknown here too!
Ah, I forget the English system is... erm different to the Welsh one.
In Cardiff at least, anyone over 18 (although over 16s are being jabbed too) can get a walk-in jab this weekend.
Yes, I'm showing off a bit.
I find it impossible to believe that there isn’t already community transmission of the Indian variant in the EU. With that in mind , stopping vaccinated, negative test U.K. visitors sounds political rather than scientific.
The French don't want the Indian variant spreading. This is exactly the same as their reaction to the Kent variant, the restrictions last time lasted about 2 weeks, once they realised the Kent variant was already all over France. The same will happen with this, in a few weeks they will let us all in. They had already planned to allow us to sue the NHS app as a Vaccine
passport.
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.
