So angry at the Government this evening

[Moonme]

I’m SO mad. I haven’t been on this board for months and I was feeling really optimistic about life feeling like it was returning to normal.
It is criminal that they have let this variant in. It’s literally ground hog day. Playing politics with public health to do trade deals (because of bloody Brexit) with India.
I know there is hope that the vaccines will do there jobs but we shouldn’t be in this position. This wasn’t inevitable. Arggh so cross

[Changednameforthispost11]

@sleepwouldbenice

Although I do agree with govt failing on this there has to be individual responsibility as well
School children are very open about how they have got back into the country after visiting India etc.... by going via Turkey gor example. And they weren't travelling for any urgent reasons either..... whilst the majority of the public barely strayed from home

So if people, as well as the gov't, weren't selfish idiots, we wouldn't be in this mess

Yes I have heard this too from my friend who works in a private school.

It’s quite shocking actually.

I absolutely agree that first and foremost it’s personal responsibility to follow the rules. (And it states clearly the need to quarantine even if you’ve travelled from red via amber).

But the government need to stop trusting people to do the right thing. These people need to be traced and severely fined if found to not have quarantined.

[Changednameforthispost11]

@NotSoLongGoodbye

Some people on here very naive IMO. People lie all the time to avoid restrictions. i am well aware of people lying about where they've been, where they've travelled from and taken longer routes etc but none of it can be proven.

Yes I agree.

Surely in this digital age it should not be so difficult to find out which countries people have travelled to or through though?

[Frequentflier]

In Korea and Taiwan, they have apps which you download on your phone, which can detect if you have left your home. Not sure why we can't use something like that, unless it is because of privacy considerations.

[IloveJKRowling]

@NotSoLongGoodbye

Some people on here very naive IMO. People lie all the time to avoid restrictions. i am well aware of people lying about where they've been, where they've travelled from and taken longer routes etc but none of it can be proven.

It's not impossible to impose restrictions Australia style. So you travel in from a red list country, you're segregated from other travellers and immediately escorted to a quarantine hotel at your own cost. I have friends who've travelled into Australia and that's the expectation and price of travelling (IIRC you can't board the plane at the other end until all of this is agreed to and sorted - plus a negative test before you board).

Of course senior political figures and their families have lied to avoid restrictions and the super rich seem to think the rules don't apply to them, so I don't think the government are going to do the things they need to do to actually get a lid on international travel and control the risks it poses.

[loginfail]

@Frequentflier

In Korea and Taiwan, they have apps which you download on your phone, which can detect if you have left your home. Not sure why we can't use something like that, unless it is because of privacy considerations.

I'd guess privacy considerations would rightly play a part, plus once the phone goes overseas where does HMG stand with regard to tracking?

A possible starter (if anybody could be bothered to actually investigate this) would be to look anything on record that might show if anybody left the UK on a non stop flight to India but who arrived back into the UK from another country...

I guess the damage has been done with regard to the Indian variant..whether there is now any point in tracking down and making m an example of any serious offender to encourage the others to behave in future..don't know, that would probably highly controversial.

[IrmaFayLear]

I am mad at the govt for permitting travel from India, and equally mad at the travellers.

Having to break quarantine/self-isolation to work I can understand - not everyone works in nice, secure, they will pay you whatever jobs. But going abroad is a completely different kettle of fish. If you can’t see relatives/socialise here, you can’t go anywhere else to do it.

[ilovesooty]

@pam290358

I heard a rep from the travel industry on the radio yesterday. Bleating about the need to open up travel again otherwise they will need more support, collapse of the industry, blah blah blah. I realise the industry is very badly affected but what planet are these people on, advocating opening up the borders when we’re so much in the dark about foreign variants and their effects.

What an unpleasant and callous post.

Are people not allowed to be concerned about their livelihoods?

[Thefourbells]

Are people not allowed to be concerned about their livelihoods?

Their livelihoods are even more fucked than they already are if another variant is allowed to rage out of control.

[Coldwine75]

I dont understand why and how people would be travelling to India and back here?

[penni00]

For compassionate reasons, caring, funerals etc

[Frequentflier]

@Coldwine75

I dont understand why and how people would be travelling to India and back here?

To bury their dead. Or rather, cremate. That will be the reason for wny I travel. IF I travel. With paid hotel quarantine. Not for a holiday.

[Unsure33]

Don’t people understand the virus can mutate whatever country it is in ? We could get an even worse mutation originating here?

Sometimes it’s the environment that makes it spread faster or living conditions or health of the people who catch it .

Let them just gather info first before panicking here . It might spread quicker but not cause serious health problems to those who are vaccinated .

[Unsure33]

We could greatly reduce transmission if everyone accepted a health passport.

[Blossomtoes]

@Unsure33

We could greatly reduce transmission if everyone accepted a health passport.

Tell me how that works.

[loginfail]

@Coldwine75

I dont understand why and how people would be travelling to India and back here?

www.gov.uk/guidance/coronavirus-covid-19-declaration-form-for-international-travel#permitted-reasons-for-international-travel

[penni00]

Even those vaccinated that get Covid less seriously may still get long Covid. I do not think we should just be worrying about avoiding overwhelming the hospitals with seriously ill patients, I think the population needs to be protected from long Covid. We don't know how bad long Covid might be yet, but already there are worrying signs. Will those who currently suffer from long Covid ever get better? Will those who have had Covid but seem to have recovered fine go on to develop long Covid later, will asymptomatic Covid people go on to develop Covid issues later. What about the children, could they have Covid related medical problems arise later. I just think the gov needs to keep the cases low whatever, even if the hospital admissions are low.

[sleepwouldbenice]

I am sure that many are going for compassionate reasons, esp now

But again school kids tend to give the game away that plenty have gone to see family in general or holiday......

[Coldwine75]

There should be no travel , except for emergencies, close the borders!

[Changednameforthispost11]

@Coldwine75

There should be no travel , except for emergencies, close the borders!

Travelling abroad has been illegal unless in a number of special circumstances.

It was eye opening how many had these special circumstances!

[Coldwine75]

Exactly, clearly isnt strict enough.

[Snog]

I agree that as a country we are not enforcing isolation of people who have Covid and neither are we enforcing quarantine. We seem happy to have highly ineffective versions of both.

If Australia can enforce quarantine and isolation so could we. Because we choose not to enforce it everybody suffers, Covid is not controlled and we are enabling further variants to develop and spread.

[loginfail]

@Coldwine75

There should be no travel , except for emergencies, close the borders!

We've had one or two regular posters here over the months who have pointed out that their occupation means they have to travel into/out of the UK, all done i.a.w with the rules, and that closing UK Borders would lead to them, or in at least one case their partner, losing their means of earning a living....

Just for the avoidance of any doubt I'm not just talking about those who actually work in the logistics/transport industry, I'm thinking of people in other lines of work where travel is required.

Can I ask if you are you comfortable with making demands that would ultimately cause people to lose the means of keeping a roof over their and their families heads?

[Changednameforthispost11]

@loginfail

If we carry on like this with people spreading it around because they are not quarantining then more people will end up with restrictions which could lead to more people losing their jobs.

No one is against essential travel for emergency and essential work as long as the quarantine rules are followed.

[Coldwine75]

If you cant work over Zoom and have to travel as long as quarantine is followed once back and testing.

[loginfail]

@Changednameforthispost11

No one is against essential travel for emergency and essential work as long as the quarantine rules are followed.

Problem is I actually suspect some posters really do think all travel should be stopped, without giving any thought to the consequences of doing that (both at a national level and at an individual level in many cases).

It's easy for somebody to be a keyboard warrior and call for the borders to be closed if they have no responsibility for keeping the UK functioning.

What I would agree with is better enforcement of post international travel isolation and really clamping down on anybody attempting to avoid managed quarantine, but you don't need to close the borders to do that.