Support thread for those with family abroad

[Schulte]

Anyone interested in a support thread for those of us who have family abroad, and don't know if we can see them this year? I had started to feel all positive and optimistic about going back to my home country this summer to see my parents, but it's now looking far from certain and I'm feeling increasingly depressed.

I thought maybe we can cheer each other up and share the latest on border openings, how and where to get tests for travel, etc.

Anyone?

@QuimReaper

I'm flabbergasted Portugal has just introduced quarantine - I thought they were absolutely desperate for UK tourists to come back. It's bizarre that Spain are still not even asking for PCR tests, and their case numbers are still falling, but Portugal are now doing 14 days' quarantine

If they allow Delta to take hold there it ruins their entire tourist season and puts local population at risk of further restrictions. I know UK tourists are important but they do have other tourist markets from within the EU which they are obviously trying to prioritise.

@Thunderpunt

We have just under 2 weeks to decide whether to travel to see family in Italy. We would normally drive but the hoohah of dealing with 2 countries regulations is putting me off (drive via France into Italyj). Flights are dead cheap, and we can do the 5 days quarantine in our place (there for 3 weeks probably so no too much of a hardship) but unless they drop the quarantine on return from Amber countries I just can't see it's worth it.... I've emailed the ambasciata d'italia to find out if we are allowed to travel by public transport from the airport to out quarantine place but can't get a straight answer. DH dearly wants to see his mum, she has COPD and the fact she's made it so far through this pandemic is amazing....but is it worth the hassle? Arghhhh what a decision

My parents are trying to make the same decision but have a little longer before they decide. I'm really interested to hear how it goes for you.

Also massively sympathetic. A US friend and her family (from Italy but living in the US for a long time now) have just managed to travel to Italy to see family for the first time in 18 months and it's been very emotional. She said it was amazing to just hug her mum.

Sympathies Thunder. I'd be very surprised if you're not allowed to use public transport - many people will have no option, and how realistically would they check what you do beyond the arrivals gate? Frogmarch each family / passenger individually through the airport? And if you don't have a car option, do you get sent straight back home? Not suggesting you lie of course, just that they probably deemed that kind of stipulation too much hassle!

I agree five days is not so bad in the context of three weeks. When were you hoping to go?

The US -UK travel corridor doesn’t seem like it’s going to happen this summer; added to which the US is very anti the Astra Zeneca jab. Can’t believe any of this really, more bad news upon bad news for anyone wanting to see their family in the USA. This feels endless. Like so many of us I feel exiled and cut adrift from my family. Very upsetting.

@QuimReaper

I'm flabbergasted Portugal has just introduced quarantine - I thought they were absolutely desperate for UK tourists to come back. It's bizarre that Spain are still not even asking for PCR tests, and their case numbers are still falling, but Portugal are now doing 14 days' quarantine

No point in having the tourists back if it shuts you down again in a couple of weeks. It's why the Mallorca Hoteliers association weren't ecstatic at the idea of being overrun with unvaccinated, untested British tourists and wanted the criteria tightened.

Portugal have already had to introduce some local lockdown measures since the let the British in so they could try and get the numbers of cases back down again. If you can market yourself to other EU and non-EU low risk countries and keep places open then you are better off than letting in tourists from a country with very high circulating levels of covid, almost all of which are a high risk variant.

Better having Germans with 5/100k and 50% delta than Brits with 134/100k and 99% delta. Much less likely to end up dealing with the myriad of problems that are going to occur when your hotel has an outbreak of Covid in it.

My flight from the Uk to Budapest has been cancelled. But hey ho, I've been offered an alternative from BA. Flying through Helsinki
I am up for an adventure, but can't make sense of the Finnish regulations regarding flying in. If I have to take a test there and test positive then I'm fucked.

I’ll be very surprised if the delta variant doesn’t spread throughout Europe very rapidly now that restrictions have been eased. France and Germany and others were in restrictions until recently compared to Britain. They’re 1-2 months behind where Britain is now. Just look at Australia - it will spread everywhere 😒

Is the UK going to lift restrictions for us though? We are double vaccinated and France now has an incidence of 19 infections per 100,000. What is the rationale for Amber? We are longing to see children and grandchildren.

There’s talk that later in the summer, maybe August, vaccinated travellers will have easier entry requirements than now.

Meanwhile a poster on the current Angela Merkel thread is telling us that seeing close family is not essential. I shouldn’t have looked, it has made me really upset.

@Schulte

Meanwhile a poster on the current Angela Merkel thread is telling us that seeing close family is not essential. I shouldn’t have looked, it has made me really upset.

each person will telll you a different thing, it's not forbidden (At least in the uk's point of view), so if you have to see your family see it, dont give a shit what another poster thinks or doesn't think, do what its right for you and your family

If you look at how Delta has got into Australia then the idea that you can keep it out of Europe seems ridiculous.

However I was surprised that given the general level of restrictions in Aus it wasn't required that the drivers transporting people from airports to quarantine hotels did not need to be vaccinated, masked or taking regular tests!

@QuimReaper

Sympathies Thunder. I'd be very surprised if you're not allowed to use public transport - many people will have no option, and how realistically would they check what you do beyond the arrivals gate? Frogmarch each family / passenger individually through the airport? And if you don't have a car option, do you get sent straight back home? Not suggesting you lie of course, just that they probably deemed that kind of stipulation too much hassle!

I agree five days is not so bad in the context of three weeks. When were you hoping to go?

Thanks and hopefully you're right about public transport. To be honest even if we drove we would still have to take the ferry to the island and you're not allowed to stay in the car, so either way we need to take public transport. Hoping to leave by 7th August, but need to really let our family know by mid July - so if we don't go they can re-let the apartment to other tourists.

Last week delta was 6% of cases (in dk) to 20% this week 🤷🏼‍♀️ at that pace, next week may be 70%+

We had our first Delta case here in Maine back in April, and our rates have still consistently fallen since then. In the last month our 7-day rate has dropped from 192 to 25. Vaccinations really do make a huge difference.

I think the first delta case was in may or maybe April here too, but the r number is still 0.9. I just think it’s nutty for Merkel to highlight UK delta variant hotspot, it’s already everywhere but yes the vaccine is making a huge difference at least in slowing the spread.

@ursuslemonade

My flight from the Uk to Budapest has been cancelled. But hey ho, I've been offered an alternative from BA. Flying through Helsinki I am up for an adventure, but can't make sense of the Finnish regulations regarding flying in. If I have to take a test there and test positive then I'm fucked.

Have you accepted that route?

We are trying KLM via Amsterdam to Budapest.
Lufthansa cancelled all our previous flights, so time for a change. (To their credit LH refunded us each time.)

Fresh chaos as Malta refuses to accept NHS app as proof of vaccination status

www-standard-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/malta-proof-of-vaccination-nhs-app-airports-green-list-uk-travel-b943361.html?amp=&amp_gsa=1&amp_js_v=a6&usqp=mq331AQIKAGwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16250673988900&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.standard.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fuk%2Fmalta-proof-of-vaccination-nhs-app-airports-green-list-uk-travel-b943361.html

[quote YoutubeZoom]Fresh chaos as Malta refuses to accept NHS app as proof of vaccination status

www-standard-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/malta-proof-of-vaccination-nhs-app-airports-green-list-uk-travel-b943361.html?amp=&amp_gsa=1&amp_js_v=a6&usqp=mq331AQIKAGwASCAAgM%3D#amp_tf=From%20%251%24s&aoh=16250673988900&csi=0&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.standard.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fuk%2Fmalta-proof-of-vaccination-nhs-app-airports-green-list-uk-travel-b943361.html[/quote]
I’ve read they’ve changed their mind and now they’re accepting it

Saw it in Twitter
mobile.twitter.com/janetwgray/status/1410221833220243460/photo/1

Thank theory @EasterIssland

I mean thank the Lord

@YoutubeZoom

I mean thank the Lord

Lords theory ? :). That’s ok ! Didn’t make sense

Morning all. International travel was discussed in parliament this week - they grilled Shapps - here’s a transcript for those who are interested:

hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2021-06-29/debates/65D669AA-8596-45BA-93C7-19E206117C21/InternationalTravel

@Schulte anything decided ? I got the email but haven’t read it