Do you think Cornwall will be 'open' in July?

[NoSoapAndGory]

Hi all.

A purely speculative post to gauge opinions, as I know we don't know, don't have a crystal ball, etc etc.

We have booked a self catering holiday cottage near Bude for the first 10 days of July. We live in the South East, so it's about 5 hours drive to get there on a good day. We have a dog so would need to stop at a service station at least once.

As part of general future-focused conversation, DH and I are ruminating about

1: will we be 'allowed' to go
2: if we are, would we want to anyway?
3: if it's 'allowed', will the Bude community welcome us or hate us?
4: will the tourist industry want revenue or not?

Etc. Etc. Etc.

Anyone else having similar discussions, and if so, what are you thinking?

vanilla I pointed out that the poster said there was a 'roaring trade' going on, not that very little bit doesn't help.

We’re in the same boat - got a the first week in July booked in a holiday cottage. The balance is due at the end of May so hoping for some clear guidelines before then. If the government approves UK holiday travel then we will go, but if not then we will not.

"It's a kind of "we're ok Jack - screw you" attitude"

I'm not seeing that at all.

If it's under control and the government has implemented tracking and testing, it might not be a big deal at all to travel.

It's a big "if", of course. But if it's under control, the government has said it's fine, and everyone has access to testing, then what's the issue?

I can’t see it happening in July, sorry. We usually stay near St Ives in July/August but have given up hope of going this year.

@NoSoapAndGory

I can only answer your question 4, and only from my own perspective - but my answer would be an emphatic yes.

notalways And so why can’t the people who live there go here, for example?

How are you going to get them there? Falmouth to Birmingham is 4 hours+ driving. Sending patients in an ambulance takes that ambulance away for a day; same with using the air ambulance, and not all air ambulances will take COVID patients.

news.sky.com/story/coronavirus-without-summer-trade-cornwall-fears-80-of-tourism-sector-is-at-risk-11975700

If Cornwall doesn't open this suggests the results will be catastrophic for their economy.

Our air ambulances (Devon or Cornwall) won't take CV19 patients. It's 1.25 hrs to our nearest hospital by road.

Why do Cornwall and Devon only have one main hospital each? For about 70 years + tourists have about doubled the population there in summers. Why are these increased numbers taken into account regarding medical services?
They don't- Cornwall has one main hospital, but Devon has several. North Devon has Barnstable, however there are also large hospitals elsewhere in Devon such as Exeter, Plymouth, Torbay

Why do Cornwall and Devon only have one main hospital each? For about 70 years + tourists have about doubled the population there in summers. Why are these increased numbers taken into account regarding medical services? I think people are actually unwelcome. If not why not fund raise for new hospitals? The Nightingale hospitals only took a few days to construct, I understand.

Because NHS (and local government, Home Office) resources are allocated (primarily, at least, they use complex formulae) according to the permanent population. If funding was adjusted to take account of holiday makers, where would the extra money come from? Which regions, which councils?

And the Nightingale hospitals are essentially field hospitals. They cannot provide anything like the complex range of services that a general hospital with an A&E department can provide, and needs to be able to provide.

Yes it will. If it isn't the economic suffering will be epic. I wouldn't expect it to be normal but it will be open.

No

It hasn't hit us badly as yet, but there have been COVID deaths in Cornish hospitals; 66 deaths as of three days ago, and 436 cases. If we get an influx of tourists that number will rocket, and in Devon and Cornwall we have a more elderly population. Resources are sparse down here as pp have said, and for this year we cannot cope if the holidaymakers cause a spike in COVID cases. We either use Treliske at one end of the county, or those of us nearer the Tamar, use Derriford in Plymouth. It wouldn't take much to overwhelm those hospitals

There is no other agenda, we just want to avoid being hit and overwhelmed by the virus, and would quite like our elderly, often that's our parents, to stay alive.

Yes, this is it to be honest. It's not an "all right Jack attitude". I don't mind tourists at all.

Sorry if this has already been mentioned but isn't there a nightingale hospital in Exeter?

Probably not.

So what are people meant to do that have already paid for weekends/ weeks away in July/August?

If lockdown/restrictions are lifted companies will not be giving refunds, so what are we meant to do.. not worry about the hundreds of £££ going down the drain and stay at home.

Get real. Iv paid hundreds to stay for a long weekend in July and I will be going.

Shops reopening along with drive throughs

Which needn't have closed in the first place!

I’m thinking why didn’t you post this on the Corona board?

I think even if you could go you might be made to feel unwelcome.They hate tourists at the best of times so this gives even more of a reason for hostility.

@SunShine682 I got told on a previous post to suck it up as there's a pandemic!

Sorry if this has already been mentioned but isn't there a nightingale hospital in Exeter?

I live in Exeter, there is a nightingale hospital due to be built I believe. And we also have the Royal Devon and Exeter (RD&E) hospital in Exeter

@CrystalTipped, I live in an area popular with tourists, too, and as we are only 60 miles from London we get a lot of day/weekend trippers.

I'm hoping the coach trips that flood the town won't be happening this year, but I'll still be limiting my trips to the town centre, even if lockdown is relaxed.

Covid has not hit Cornwall badly - or at all, you might argue. So why the rush to put up signs telling us your county is closed.

The answer to your ridiculous post is in your own statement. Areas that are not yet hard hit with Covid, don't want people coming from other areas bringing the infection with them. What's difficult to understand about it?

I live in Windermere in the lakes. On Saturday I drove and left my car in a village 15 mins drive away to go for a run. This is in government guidelines. When I got back to my car it had a window smashed in and a note on the car telling me to fuck off home. So I don't think that local people are going to welcome tourists any time soon, even if they are local themselves!

The issue is that covid is not going anywhere. We can flatten the curve by being in the kind of lockdown we are in. There will be no miracle cure or vaccine this year, if the vaccine ever exists and is actually effective in the future. Sure we will develop improved ways of treating it all taking time.

People will be catching it and spreading it for the foreseeable future. So are tourist towns/businesses going to stay closed indefinitely? When will tourists be welcome?

I'm not far out of Manchester and if local city hospitality businesses are already struggling to survive, can small business in tourist areas survive maybe two summers of not 'allowing' tourists?