France transit/quarantine requirements are unfair

[Prochainesortie]

I know 5 families currently in relatively Covid safe European families (Eg Germany, Poland etc) visiting their own families who will now have to quarantine due to transiting France for a few hours and using the Eurotunnel. They won’t stay the night in France just refuel once due to driving distances, they won’t exit the car in the eurotunnel. 1 is my cleaner and she is panicking about no income on return. She doesn’t have online shopping and her children won’t be allowed out of her small flat to exercise for 14 days! The only reason she drove was to be safer and avoid airports! I think the U.K. government is unreasonable given France is such a transit country. More notice should have been given and they need to relax the transit requirements urgently. I agree that spending the night in France might increase the risk but 1-2 refuel/stop should be allowed as long as masks/sanitiser etc are used. My cleaner is driving in a big car with another family, I told her to look into driving through Germany for longer/carrying some fuel if possible. Hopefully she will find a way to avoid the quarantine legally by not having to stop.

[Prochainesortie]

I agree that anyone travelling this summer is taking a risk of quarantine (which for me is no problem as I can work from home and my children have a garden to play in etc). But in my Cleaner’s case I am going to help her understand the rules. She is trying to follow the rules not bend them. The U.K. government has been clear that you can transit through France or Belgium using the eurotunnel within certain guidelines which I am trying to understand on her behalf. You can pee in a field and walk your dog there too.

[user1468538201]

I know your cleaner travelled to see family but that makes zero difference in my opinion, if anyone chooses to travel abroad at the moment they should be factoring in two weeks quarantine, we live in Ireland, my in laws live in UK, one of them, her husband and children travelled to Turkey a few days ago on holiday, they think it's ok because it's all inclusive and they won't leave the resort, I think they are selfish and thoughtless and despite being very well off they couldn't resist the price drop for a holiday. I doubt they would quarantine even if the rules changed regarding Turkey. The same woman brought her daughter to the Theatre mid March and bragged about the wonderful seats they got for next to nothing because people were nervous about going out, my mil headed cross country by train last week to visit a son who could have driven to collect her but that would cost more, it seems to me that getting value for money is more important than being extra cautious to them.

[Dominicgoings]

Two words

Incubation Period.

Ffs I really do despair sometimes. Why on earth do you think people have to quarantine for 14 days?

[itsgettingweird]

The rules are prejudicial towards Europeans visiting family and just transiting back to the U.K. because 1 fuel stop= 14 day full on quarantine

I could equally have argued that through shielding.

The rules were predjudiced against people like me who also wanted to see their family 5 minutes away because they were shielding. Because it disadvantaged us.

Truth is that mum has terminal cancer and dad in remission. Both having chemo during peak.

The disadvantage is as counteracted by the advantage of keeping them safe.

I think I'm a pandemic bets are off. It's very hard and sacrifices have been very difficult.

But we really do have to move on from "life's not fair" and reset our thinking in society.

[itsgettingweird]

@cologne4711

everyone could claim the refuelled at x station in Belgium and never stopped in France Belgium is already on the quarantine list.

Oh yeah 🤦🏼‍♀️

[RustyLeesBogBrush]

These type of questions never fail to amaze me.

Can you just for one moment imagine this is 15th August 2019? Someone tells you that next year on this date there will be a global pandemic that will have infected over 21 million people and have killed over a quarter of a million worldwide. Then they tell you about people are moaning about missing out on holidays abroad or having to quarantine for 14 days after returning.

Anyone with any sense would be absolutely gobsmacked. They would find it hard to believe. I would say I would find that very unreasonable sounding behaviour.

[Sirzy]

The problem is everyone thinks their circumstances are special and the rules shouldn’t apply to them.

[FunnysInLaJardin]

@eurochick

As someone with family members abroad I have little sympathy. It's hard not seeing them but if you do choose to then you have to quarantine. The new countries added to the list haven't come out of the blue - it has been foreshadowed for ages.

I normally live for my foreign holidays as relief from a stressful job but I don't think it's responsible to travel at the moment so I'm staying home this year.

totally agree. I live in a different country to my family who are all in the UK. My mum is 92 and in a care home. I may never see her again, but at the moment its not safe to travel and I cant afford to quarantine, so have to make do with FaceTime calls etc.

Visiting to see family is not a valid get out, its not essential.

[ItsAlwaysSunnyOnMN]

I know it can take up to 14 days to show symptoms

But on a test is news to me

No I didn’t think the 14 days was random

[sunshinesupermum]

OP - you can always put your money where your mouth is and balance the unfairness by still paying your cleaner.

THIS. I've been paying my Polish cleaner since lockdown began while cleaning my flat myself. OP's cleaner doesn't have to lose out financially!
PS I haven't RTFT as this is just a moan about quarantine! OP is BVU

[Sirzy]

[quote Prochainesortie]@untamedwisteria - thank you for that suggestion of pay with card at a petrol
Pump. I am going to double check with the home office quarantine helpline on Monday too if that is ok. You can drive through France and not leave your car at all and touch all the buttons at the payage and that would be ok so I don’t see how touching a petrol pump and paying with card there and not mixing with people is any different. The key exemption has to be not mixing with people. My cleaner did go home for a funeral, it was essential travel. She chose eurotunnel as you don’t have to mix with people, like at an airport. She was worried about a fuel can due to additional risk of fire but I think going a longer route through Germany is a good suggestion too.[/quote]
You said her grandmother sadly died in May, how does that make travelling in August essential travel?

Presumably she knew that by driving she was increasing the risk of needing to quarantine especially since France being at risk of being added to the list isn’t a new development

[Friendsoftheearth]

Many people have died and not been able to say goodbye, the VERY point of the quarantine exercise is to spare many more thousands the experience.

Your cleaner needs to follow the rules. They are extremely simple to follow. Remind her that 1000gbp is a lot of money to be fined, and then leave her to make her own arrangements. Visiting family three months after a relative died is not essential!!

[SummerNamechangeHappened]

Bloody ridiculous!
Why on earth the random deadline at 4 in the f**king morning?
Plenty of people coming back from the middle of rural France where they are surely loads safer than in our crowded cities/ coast?!
Why not just require people to have a test rather than quarantine FFS?
This government are a bloody JOKE!!!

[Friendsoftheearth]

4am was deliberately chosen as the most safest time to begin the quarantine as no flights would be in the air. It was agreed by all the devolved nations.

They needed to pick a time so this was as good a time as any, or would you rather we just allowed the infection rate to rocket here again?
I am sure you would have something to say about that too.

[OliviaPopeRules]

@SummerNamechangeHappened

Bloody ridiculous!
Why on earth the random deadline at 4 in the f**king morning?
Plenty of people coming back from the middle of rural France where they are surely loads safer than in our crowded cities/ coast?!
Why not just require people to have a test rather than quarantine FFS?
This government are a bloody JOKE!!!

It wasn't random, it gave people 30 hours notice and quarantine has been on the cards for days if not weeks. If you can't quarantine don't travel abroad. Testing cannot rule you out from having COVID only that you are now showing the symptoms at that point and they can take 14 days to show.

[Sirzy]

Maybe next time they should use psychic powers to be able to tell people months in advance?

Anyone would think we didn’t know the risk was hanging there the whole time at the moment

[Prochainesortie]

@Friendsoftheearth- my cleaner went back to Poland to mourn the loss of her grandmother with the rest of her family in August. They are Catholics. Say their prayers in a small family community with her brother there too who was previously also stuck in the U.K. Of course many people did not get to say goodbye in person to their elderly but doesn’t stop them meeting up once it is allowed in whatever group size is allowed to mourn their loved ones. My cleaner is trying to follow the rules! The transit rules are not that clear. Her English isn’t good enough to read through pages of government waffle.

[SummerNamechangeHappened]

If testing can't rule you out from having covid then why on earth would we have testing?!

[IceCreamAndCandyfloss]

@Prochainesortie

I agree that anyone travelling this summer is taking a risk of quarantine (which for me is no problem as I can work from home and my children have a garden to play in etc). But in my Cleaner’s case I am going to help her understand the rules. She is trying to follow the rules not bend them. The U.K. government has been clear that you can transit through France or Belgium using the eurotunnel within certain guidelines which I am trying to understand on her behalf. You can pee in a field and walk your dog there too.

She was in a car with another family breaking the SD rule so am not sure I agree re that’s she’s trying hard not to break the rules.

[hoistbymyownzombiepetard]

Why not just require people to have a test rather than quarantine FFS?

Because if you arrived back this morning at 8am and had a negative test, all that proves is that you did not have the virus at 8am this morning.

The incubation period is accepted to be 14 days, so if you did catch the virus in France, you might not get a positive test until day 14. In the meantime, if you had not been quarantining, you could have been merrily spreading the virus to anyone you met (or you could have picked up the virus in the UK after being back a week but get a positive test result until week 3).

This is pretty basic stuff and it is alarming that people just don't seem to get it.

[OliviaPopeRules]

[quote Prochainesortie]@Friendsoftheearth- my cleaner went back to Poland to mourn the loss of her grandmother with the rest of her family in August. They are Catholics. Say their prayers in a small family community with her brother there too who was previously also stuck in the U.K. Of course many people did not get to say goodbye in person to their elderly but doesn’t stop them meeting up once it is allowed in whatever group size is allowed to mourn their loved ones. My cleaner is trying to follow the rules! The transit rules are not that clear. Her English isn’t good enough to read through pages of government waffle.[/quote]
But your original post wasn't asking for advice for your cleaner it was primarily to moan about how unfair it is and then you went on to make the ridiculous claim that the rules are prejudice against European!!
Like I said I have sympathy for your cleaner but that is the risk she took.
I, like tens of thousands of others, would love to see our families and mourn loved ones but we cannot afford to risk quarantine and didn't go.
I don't know what her being catholic and saying prayers us to do with anything.

[heartsonacake]

YABVU. I don’t feel sorry for any of them; they chose to go abroad during a pandemic, knowing this could happen, so now they have to face the consequences of it.

The reason they went is irrelevant. They were foolish to.

[hoistbymyownzombiepetard]

but get a positive test result until week 3

"but not get a positive test result until week 3" is what I meant to type.

[Cloudtraffic]

@SummerNamechangeHappened - testing does (or doesn’t) conform coronavirus however it can take time to incubate that’s why there is 14 day quarantine. If you tested negative today it doesn’t mean you will be negative in three days time

[Friendsoftheearth]

The transit rules are crystal clear, if you stop anywhere in a restricted country you have to quarantine. I am not sure why she doesn't understand it op.

Your cleaner wanted to see her family, which is not unreasonable, but in the middle of a pandemic she would have been fully aware of the need to quarantine at any time and/or get caught up in a lockdown. She is an adult, not a child and made the decision herself.

Poland by the way is now on the list for possible restrictions too I am sorry to say. So depending on how long she is there, she may have to quarantine any way.