Oh bollocks, I'm really nervous about my holiday now!

[stopitkenneth]

We're due to head to a French campsite in four weeks (driving all the way). We've cancelled two holidays due to COVID, Malta at Easter and Mellorca now. We decided a couple of weeks ago that we'd try for France as quarantine had lifted and I was able to get comprehensive insurance.
But now I'm really worried about needing to quarantine when we get back!

I know, I know, booking anything now was optimistic and a bit stupid. But we really REALLY want to get away (I'm frontline NHS,I need a bloody holiday). And it's hard to see how rates in France could be worse than what we've got here.

At no point have my workplace says that we shouldn't be booking holidays abroad. So if I do have to quarantine on my return, then I'm hoping they'll either support me to work from home, or I'm happy to take the two weeks unpaid. I'm hoping that because I booked it during the time that there was no quarantine, they can't come down hard on me. But I'm now really worried.
Argh!

I am really not impressed with this at all. I've worked through the pandemic, had my 2 DC off the whole time, had an elderly family member die of Covid and others sick, kids are on holidays now with NOTHING to keep them occupied as nowhere is open and all their clubs and activities are still not running. I am at the end of my tether. I could really do with a holiday myself, but I haven't booked one because guess what? The pandemic is not over yet! It is still on simmer, ready to be ramped up at a moments notice. We haven't done enough to extinguish it yet.

There are plenty of places in the UK to vacation. So what if it is a bit more expensive than Spain. Spending your money in the UK is the right thing to do right now. We are on our knees if you hadn't realised it yet.

Also, Because it rains in England ..... all of the time ....incessantly

No it doesn't. Where I live, the next 10 days are rain free and 20-26 degrees and I live 1 hour from some of the best beaches in the UK. Go south or east, it hardly rains here now.

I have no sympathy whatsoever sorry. In fact I am fuming because this means thousands more people are going to be unproductive for a further 2 weeks when we desperately all need to get back to work and resuscitate our economy.

If you are prepared for what might happen, then do it, you’ve worked bloody hard (and thank you for that) over the past 5months and deserve a break.
Ps you’re right, I’m in the north, and it’s always raining here!

The thought of potentially being stuck in a country where I don’t speak the language well or fully understand local culture makes me feel very uneasy. Worse though, is the worry of potentially becoming very unwell on a campsite.

It all just sounds horribly stressful. I am generally risk averse at the best of times but right now, I’m not going anywhere.

@ChandosBucks Guernsey resident here. Our borders remain closed and anyone coming in has to self-isolate for 14 days. They are checked up on - 3 breaches in Court to date all fined £6k each and in the prison until fines are paid. More suspected breaches under investigation. Borders will not open before 1 September - but we’ve had no COVID-19 infections for over 2 months. Yes it’s tough not being able to go away but life is normal in our bubble. I really feel for the Jersey residents in the way your States have opened your borders as the worry is that you will have to go back into lockdown when it could have been avoided. We’re considering France in October but only if it’s safe - if not next years holidays are paid for! Hope you keep safe.

I have no sympathy whatsoever sorry. In fact I am fuming because this means thousands more people are going to be unproductive for a further 2 weeks when we desperately all need to get back to work and resuscitate our economy.

But what if those thousands haven't had any time off this year & worked through lockdown?

Cue: Holidaymakers now stranded in Spain with flights being cancelled all over the place, and many areas are now back in a lockdown again horrified that this has happened to them I guess were writing posts just like this one!

Fast forward a few weeks and op will be in France along with others that 'deserve' a holiday, and will be complaining when this happens to them, despite knowing the risk.

www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/world-news/france-going-backwards-battle-against-18663003

www.connexionfrance.com/French-news/Covid-in-France-1-000-new-cases-in-24-hours-spark-warning-from-health-body-and-health-ministry-on-behaviour

The economy hasn't suffered just because people aren't working it's because people aren't spending money as they used to. Like many of my peers my savings have gone up over this period because I haven't had the opportunity to spend.

First I doubt this is genuine as no front line worker I know is planning holidays abroad. They are not happy about it but not travelling despite needing a break badly.

Second if you havent already already booked a uk holiday you're unlikely to find places to take you. Not everyone has, or wants to buy, a tent. Nurses in particular need to look after their backs.

Third If you take a few days off and isolate for that time then everyone who went with you tests at the end of that time if you have picked up the virus one of you will test positive. Two weeks quarantine is necessary for people who may not do the test properly, if you are genuinely frontline you'll know if you've done it properly or not. You'll also be wearing your mask properly so not transmitting it to others as those with less experience would. The rest of your party, who are not used to mask wearing, should be sticking to 2 weeks quarantine.

@user1497207191
"Fully agree. Perhaps that attitude is why covid rampaged through some hospitals at the start. Same with the way norovirus spreads through hospitals."

I think it was probably more to do with the fact that staff weren't provided with adequate PPE to start with; enough of it wasn't available so it was basically rationed (with the guidelines being changed by Public Health England three times). This meant for a time staff could only wear PPE when within 2m of patient with confirmed or suspected covid. The lack of testing available meant patients couldn't be screened routinely on their admission to hospital, and as we now know people can be infectious while they are asymptomatic. So staff were caring for people who actually had covid and were infectious without any PPE.

540 health and social care workers have died in the last 4 months in the UK. Not because of selfish attitudes about going abroad, but because they were basically treated as cannon fodder to start with.

@alreadytaken , I'm not sure exactly what your point is, it seems to be that holidays anywhere are a bad idea, but I do think if people use their imagination and search for less popular parts of the country, then a UK holiday would still be available.
We had a week in Shropshire, and it's a lovely quiet part of the world which is never particularly overrun with tourists. I'm sure there would be some holiday rentals left there, or perhaps in Wales where indecision over dropping restrictions meant a late start to the holiday season.

@AllTheUsernamesAreAlreadyTaken

"Second if you havent already already booked a uk holiday you're unlikely to find places to take you. Not everyone has, or wants to buy, a tent. Nurses in particular need to look after their backs."

Just looked on Airbnb, over 300 places that you would have to yourself available in Devon for next weekend. There's plenty of places in the UK left to book for a self catering holiday in a place you can drive to or back.

Are you calling the OP a liar alreadytaken? On the basis of the frontline workers you know deciding on Bognor?
I'll cancel out your trollhunting by saying my anaesthetist friend and her GP husband are going abroad next weekend.

@PinkFondantFancy

By that logic I shouldn't even leave my house then! If I travel to a different part of the UK I'm contributing to the risk of catching and spreading it in exactly the same way as crossing the channel....

We had a 5 mile limit in Wales until a couple of weeks ago so yes, that logic was still around until recently.

Why do you mention you're frontline NHS? Any particular relevance to you going to France camping?

@Newjez

The UK has probably had the best weather I've ever seen this summer. It's been fantastic. I don't understand why someone would need to book a holiday overseas.

You just can't rely on it in the same way, unfortunately, and I think many of us have come to take that for granted with overseas holidays.

We've decided to do some long weekends in the UK instead of an overseas holiday and are on one at the moment. With the travelling time of the first and last days we have just two proper days of holiday. Fine if it's good weather but yesterday absolutely pissed it down the whole day and the normal wet weather options are off because of the virus. So that means one day just sitting in the holiday let and one day to really get out and about. It's not ideal really - yesterday felt like a huge waste. I just wish we had a drier/more predictable climate.

Just looked on Airbnb, over 300 places that you would have to yourself available in Devon for next weekend. There's plenty of places in the UK left to book for a self catering holiday in a place you can drive to or back.

However change that to 2 adults & 2 dc it's 102 stays & change that to not a room/hotel room it's 54 stays many at £200 a night

I booked my holiday to France in December. The insurance doesn't cover it so no refund at all. We are travelling by car and staying in a self contained house. We discussed it and decided to go.

Second if you havent already already booked a uk holiday you're unlikely to find places to take you. Not everyone has, or wants to buy, a tent. Nurses in particular need to look after their backs.

Nonsense. I have places in Devon and Wales that both have availability in September. Admittedly none in July/August.

[quote Popc0rn]@AllTheUsernamesAreAlreadyTaken

"Second if you havent already already booked a uk holiday you're unlikely to find places to take you. Not everyone has, or wants to buy, a tent. Nurses in particular need to look after their backs."

Just looked on Airbnb, over 300 places that you would have to yourself available in Devon for next weekend. There's plenty of places in the UK left to book for a self catering holiday in a place you can drive to or back.[/quote]
You’ve tagged the wrong poster.

The UK has probably had the best weather I've ever seen this summer. It's been fantastic. I don't understand why someone would need to book a holiday overseas

Where we are (midlands) we had great weather in April and May but June and July have been awful, wet and cold (12 degrees some days). We've had the heating on!

@eaglejulesk

Why should she be limited to just the UK?

Um, let me think ..... Oh I know, because we are in the midst of a worldwide pandemic and should all be doing all we can to minimize the risk of catching and transmitting a virus maybe? Also, expecting a workplace to put up with someone returning from a holiday then having to take further time off to quarantine is ridiculous - especially if someone else has to cover their job.

This!

It's a risk to go abroad right now, for the reason that quarantine rules can and will change as necessary. If you go abroad you are accepting that risk.

Holiday here, if a break is needed.

OP You are making a real show of NHS workers. You want a holiday and you dont care about what infections you might take with you or those you may bring back. How ignorant and selfish. As a front line NHS worker, if you really are, you should have enough knowledge to see the damage your selfish holiday could do.
I hope you are not working in my NHS area

@stopitkenneth

I'm not worried about there being a higher risk of catching it there than here. It's the summer holidays. Wherever I am, be it staying at home and going on day trips, going on holiday to, say, Blackpool or Bognor, or being in France, I will be going out and about with the DCs (following all SD guidance of course). I'm not staying locked in for the summer.

I'm not flying, I'll be driving all the way there and back. Yes I'll go to service stations, as I would if I was driving for more than a couple of hours within the uk.

I don't want to come across as all "I'm going abroad because I can!" But I really don't think being at a campsite in France is that different to being at a campsite in the UK right now. Apart from the quarantine risk!

But that's your problem - the quarantine risk. If you go abroad currently you accept that risk.

Can you afford another 2 weeks off without pay? Have you spoken to your work to ask what the options are on your return if you need to quarantine?

I didn’t get past the OP being frontline nhs and the ability to work from home?
When someone says frontline NHS I assume Consultant, Nurse, records secretary or hospital porter? What frontline job can be done from home?

We're keeping an eye on the situation and if the rates in the area we'll be going to are concerning then we'll cancel, obviously. Of course I'm not going to take my family somewhere that will place us all at risk.

The same can be said for UK holidays too. @TheBouquets would I still be "a show to the NHS" if I chose to go on a two week holiday in the UK to an area that had similar infection rates to the place I'm heading to in France?