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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU To think if you took risk to go abroad you shout shut the f up and stop bitching if quarantined?

82 replies

mussymummy · 03/09/2020 22:36

Simply thos, I am sick fed up of stories on the news of poor hard to people who have chosen to increase their and their loved ones covid risk by going abroad on holiday knowing the risks and now they are bleating to the press about how hard done by they are. You knew the risk so stop bitching about it?

OP posts:
PyongyangKipperbang · 04/09/2020 03:37

And to others what use is testing on return? You arrive back in the country showing no symptoms, likely a negative test and develop symptoms 10 days later...

@cuparfull
And also, this

Lifeispassingby · 04/09/2020 03:52

Nikori there is a shortage of tests available now in the UK, also you can become positive up to 14days afterwards which is why testing on he day you return would not work

Nikori · 04/09/2020 05:07

I assume that you are suggesting France, Germany, Spain, Portugal et al have that testing available too?

Germany definitely has, I think France and Italy does too. Not sure about Portugal and Spain.

The UK Government is relying on people self-isolating for 14 days on arrival, but I wonder how many travellers are actually doing this. Testing, while not perfect, would be safer, I think.

Nikori · 04/09/2020 05:13

@Lifeispassingby

Nikori there is a shortage of tests available now in the UK, also you can become positive up to 14days afterwards which is why testing on he day you return would not work
I guess my real question is why is there still a shortage of tests in the UK? How do other countries have their shit together to do mass testing and the UK still doesn't? It's a rhetorical question by the way. I know the answer.
AIBU To think if you took risk to go abroad you shout shut the f up and stop bitching if quarantined?
MindyStClaire · 04/09/2020 05:17

Agree with you about the shortage of tests, but it makes no difference in this situation as a negative test doesn't mean you aren't incubating the virus.

Nikori · 04/09/2020 05:36

@MindyStClaire

Agree with you about the shortage of tests, but it makes no difference in this situation as a negative test doesn't mean you aren't incubating the virus.
Right, but it would still catch a lot of positives coming into the country, especially people who are positive but asymptomatic. Those are the kinds of people who might think they don't need to bother self-isolating for 2 weeks because they feel fine. I read that in Iceland, they have to retest 4 days after their initial test and if that is also negative, they can leave self-isolation.

I freely admit that testing at airports isn't a perfect solution, but I think it's warranted, which is why so many other countries have implemented it.

WordWarrior · 04/09/2020 05:46

@LEELULUMPKIN Hi. Actually, that's a misquote. The actual quote is ' It is better to remain silent, and have everyone think you're a fool, than to open your mouth, and remove all doubt '. You're welcome.

nosswith · 04/09/2020 07:40

If you booked anything since mid-March, you were aware of some of the chance of not being able to go, so OP YANBU.

The complaint should be about the lack of any testing that could reduce the quarantine period, or time away from work for people with the symptoms. Test and trace should be headed by a medical professional, not the former failed boss of an internet service provider.

Tomatoesneedtoripen · 04/09/2020 08:00

i dont know why we give the moaners any air time,
the took a chance

LuckyBitches · 04/09/2020 08:03

A lot of whinging on this thread about whingers.

GinDrinker00 · 04/09/2020 08:08

YANBU.
I’ve seen plenty of people come back and not isolate. Selfish doesn’t cut it.

endofthelinefinally · 04/09/2020 08:20

We came back from SE Asia in February and self isolated for 2 weeks.
Warnings about Covid were all over the local media and the BBC world news throughout January.
We already had our own masks and hand sanitiser that we had been using since January.
We were amazed and horrified to find the complete lack of preparation here. This whole pandemic has been handled so badly it is embarrassing. I think the misinformation and lack of action by government goes some way to explain why some people think it is ok to go on holiday.

mrbob · 04/09/2020 08:26

YANBU. With any luck and negative covid test permitting DH and I will be flying to Antigua in 11 days.

There are people who are still stuck overseas from
Australia months later after they left for a holiday before lockdown, their flights were repeatedly cancelled due to caps on numbers and If they rebook rather than wait they will need to pay $10k per person and then several 000 for quarantine when they get here. Are you prepared for that?

Songsofexperience · 04/09/2020 08:51

My problem with those quarantine rules is that they're illogical. If you really want to control infected people coming in, you'd have to actually lock them up in a hotel and not let them use public transport to get home. If a mask is good enough for the train or bus- including when just returning from a higher risk country- then why fuck up the economy by preventing people from working in the office and their kids to go to school for two weeks? There are so many other ways to handle infection risks without restricting movement. Compulsory mask wearing everywhere for instance, or regular large scale testing. Quarantine to me seems only to exist to make people think leaving the country is morally wrong. This mindset destroys entire industries and livelihoods, not to mention tearing many families apart; there are so many other reasons to travel besides holiday (business, family etc)- and even holidays aren't necessarily the frivolous luxury they're made out to be nowadays. This year has been exhausting, I'm so sorry for the kids who were looking forward to a few days somewhere nice and couldn't have that.

LEELULUMPKIN · 04/09/2020 08:52

@WordWarrior Thanks for the correction, duly noted. I hope people got the general gist anyway!

Frazzled2207 · 04/09/2020 08:54

If you recently booked then yanbu but if you booked pre Covid and couldn’t get your money back and then unexpectedly had to quarantine I think being pissed off is entirely justified.

FrankieStein402 · 04/09/2020 09:03

Yanbu

Though England is World beating/top tranching in whinging as well as clusterfucking - though obviously not in testing and competent government.

LowLou · 04/09/2020 09:05

I'm all for travel because the industry needs it but I think people are so desperate for normality they aren't actually really absorbing the fact that even your mini break 2 hours away on a plane is likely to end up being anything but normal and highly likely to change/be impacted in someway by Covid.

I lost 2 holidays this year. All booked pre Covid. I was literally just boarding my flight when the pandemic was declared and my homiday was cancelled. No refund or recompense for airport parking, airport hotel etc.

I do sympathise with those who booked when we all thought Covid was just a Chinese issue back in January and Feb etc. But anyone who booked in the past 4 weeks I really don't want to hear their whingeing anymore. Its shit yes, but surely not a shock, it was always a possibility.

One thing is for sure right now. Life as we knew it pre Covid isnt here anymore. You can't plan dinner at the local pub for tomorrow night with any certainty that rules, regulations might change or a local outbreak may impact that.

We all need to understand that if your planning anything now, there's a possibility rules surrounding it could change and impact it. People need to get a grip and realise all the desperation we have for the normality of pre Covid life, will sadly not change the way we have to currently live with it.

Songsofexperience · 04/09/2020 09:10

People need to get a grip and realise all the desperation we have for the normality of pre Covid life, will sadly not change the way we have to currently live with it.

On one level you're right but I'm very reluctant to let go of the pre Covid lifestyle because I don't want to give this government even the slightest hint that I might find their incompetence ok or might be ready to settle for this degraded lifestyle that we're all expected to embrace. I will keep demanding and expecting better from them.

LakieLady · 04/09/2020 09:11

Sorry for your loss @swimlyn. That puts things in perspective rather.

Quarantine's a joke anyway imo. I know several people who've returned from countries where quarantine is supposed to happen who simply haven't bothered.

wigglerose · 04/09/2020 09:14

I'm beginning to think so, even if you're not going on holiday and instead visiting family. You take the risk.

dementedpixie · 04/09/2020 09:14

@Nikori, one test would not be enough due to the incubation period being up to 14 days. A test at the airport would not pick up cases that are incubating. You would need to test again at least 7/8 days later. That would mean even more testing capacity would be required

meditrina · 04/09/2020 09:14

Yes, everything is a risk now but I don't think anyone anticipated quite how quickly and frequently the advice would change

I think a lot of people did, but we were written off as joy-sucking dementors who were acting like the Stasi, and who were determined to wreck everyone's mental health by denying them their hard-earned break

uggmum · 04/09/2020 09:16

I am on holiday in Kos, returning home today.

I booked it and was fully aware that quarantine rules might change.

Luckily Greece was not added to the list yesterday. However, I work from home and could easily quarantine if I was required to do so.

Allington · 04/09/2020 09:21

They took a risk and it didn't pay off. No-one forced them to go, though I appreciate you wouldn't want to lose money.

I feel more sorry for the inhabitants of Lisbon and the Algarve, as the COVID spike is happening in the tourist areas. On the other hand, that was also a balancing of risks due to the need for employment and income.