Why aren’t we banning any travel from India?

[HermioneWeasley]

No hotel quarantine, no self isolation at home, just not allowed to come in at all, under any circumstances.

The risk of importing a highly contagious variant which the vaccines don’t guard against would be catastrophic for the UK economy, education, healthcare etc. Nobody’s reason for travel outweighs that. Known cases of the variant in the UK have doubled in the last week,

And don’t get me started on how much notice was given of quarantine requirement so everyone could rush back here - hence the fact it’s a already spreading. And contacts with those who have it “advised to self isolate”? Nope, under house arrest or taken to a quarantine centre. We cannot afford for this to undo all the good work that’s been done.

Where is your evidence for saying that vaccines do not protect against the Indian variant?

UK citizens returning from India may well be self isolating at their home. do you think otherwise?
What would you expect the UK to do? These people live in the UK and denying them entry to their country of residence may well be a violation of their human rights.

We don’t know if the vaccines protect against this strain - why take the risk?

If people travel during a pandemic then being unable to make the return journey is a risk they take. I know it sounds hard hearted, but we cannot afford to import a vaccine resistant strain - the damage done by that will be far worse than very small numbers of people who can’t travel to the UK.

Shutting people out of the countries where they live is Draconian, a human rights issue.

Well no one should be coming here from India unless they really need to. If they live here and are returning then hopefully hotel quarantine (not home isolation) is what’s happening. But there shouldn’t be unnecessary travel to and from India at the moment - that would just be stupidity.

@lljkk

Shutting people out of the countries where they live is Draconian, a human rights issue.

Australia did it, though I don't agree with it. Some Aus nationals still not got back there. They should have announced hotel quarantine forthwith. No 4 day warning.

'We' can't this and that. Speak for yourself, OP. YOU believe that people should be barred from entering their own country (or from leaving it) for a virus that the vast number of people survive with no ill effects. Well, fortunately, you don't make the rules.

This entire thing has really brought forth the lovers of extreme authoritarianism that's utterly chilling.

@lljkk

Shutting people out of the countries where they live is Draconian, a human rights issue.

Yep!

Been a whole couple of days since there's been a 'NO ONE should travel! ANYWHERE!' and scare and doom mongering.

Bloody sick of it and from the sounds of it, more and more are becoming so.

Australia did it, though I don't agree with it. Some Aus nationals still not got back there.

What’s happening with Australians who might have visa issues, have they been able to get back? I mean, Australia can’t exactly refuse to take them if their visa has expired and the country they’re in is kicking them out. But I know some Australian nationals have had trouble booking to get back.

British citizens should never be shut out of their own country. Put yourselves in those people’s shoes or one of your close relatives.
Would you be happy being unable to return home?

@sashagabadon

British citizens should never be shut out of their own country. Put yourselves in those people’s shoes or one of your close relatives. Would you be happy being unable to return home?

Oh, it's someone who has all their family close who will come back and say, 'Of course I would be totally happy to not return home till it's safe and throw in tidbits about 'global pandemic' 'selfish' 'irresponsible', more collective 'we' bullshit and such like.

British citizens have the right of repatriation and should always have the freedom to LEAVE their country, too.

It would be ridiculous to shut people out who actually live here. It doesn't matter that they chose to travel during a pandemic. If they were legally permitted to leave the country, then they should absolutely be permitted to return, with the caveat that they have to do their hotel quarantine.

A lot of the current problems in India have been caused by the Kent variant. There is no evidence yet that the vaccines don't protect against the Indian variant. Quite the contrary, actually.

We can't stop our own citizens returning. I agree tough quarantine is necessary. There's no evidence the vaccines don't work against the variant. While what is happening in India is terrible, their death rate given the size of their in population is lower than ours at the peak of the second wave. The problem is as much their poor health infrastructure as covid.

@Myalternate

UK citizens returning from India may well be self isolating at their home. do you think otherwise? What would you expect the UK to do? These people live in the UK and denying them entry to their country of residence may well be a violation of their human rights.

This OP wants to see people thrown in effective prisons but couches this extremism under the guise of 'we' and the pretext of 'safety'. What's scarier than Covid is the number of people like this.

I know of two cases of what I'd deem 'essential' travel recently, albeit not to/from India.

One was someone travelling home at short notice because of a close family member's suicide, to support their parents (one of whom has cancer). The other was an older woman whose elderly brother died in the UK ,where he'd lived for thirty years, because the phone appointment prescription he was given didn't address his infection and he was found dead by a neighbour days later after nobody could make contact. She was his only relative, had to deal with organising what to do with the body, what to do with his personal effects, etc etc. Both quarantined/self-isolated, but both also felt they had no choice but to travel.

People still have essential reasons to travel. Even now, where people have decided to be 'sensible' and stay put, emergencies/critical illnesses/deaths occur and people have no choice. I am fully. in agreement of preventing tourism from places with variants of concern, but once measures are in place, you can't stop all people from leaving or re-entering their county. It is totally disproportionate.

So now we think it's acceptable to abandon British citizens abroad do we OP? One thing this pandemic has shown is how selfish some people are. Happy to take the vaccines that are being made there but not our own people.

I don't know why self isolation in their own homes is mentioned on here. Currently, all travellers from India have to isolate in hotels for 10 days, for which they pay 1750 pounds. They also have to test.
My elderly mother lives in India and if she gets a severe case of Covid-god forbid- I will have to go. On my way back, I will be paying for a hotel, not self isolating in the luxury of my own home.

I don’t think it’s the issue with returning more about the quarantine. As long as it’s strict hotel quarantine that is fine. If it’s not a holiday and you are returning home then a hotel quarantine should not be a problem. It’s what other countries do so I don’t see why we should be more lenient in this.

However, the vaccines have been shown to work and the most common variant there is our U.K. one so I don’t think there will be an issue. It’s frustrating we can’t act quickly and get the quarantine situation correct. When so many have suffered it’s the least the government can do.

I only have anecdotal evidence, but those of my family and friends who got the vaccine and then got Covid have had very mild cases. It is far too early to say the variant is resistant to vaccines. Not enough data yet.

@smithyca

So now we think it's acceptable to abandon British citizens abroad do we OP? One thing this pandemic has shown is how selfish some people are. Happy to take the vaccines that are being made there but not our own people.

This!