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?

@Frezia
I can't understand how we can have the highest vaccination rates in Europe yet be the only country without any plans for COVID passports. Instead of the stupid traffic lights that make no sense

Absolutely 100% this.

Directed here from an AIBU thread, sorry to see so many people in the same situation and disappointing to see no new green countries today. I am in a red list country that is in an openly political stand off with the UK. So openly political in fact that only UK passport holders have to hotel quarantine, if you are travelling from the UK on a different passport its just 7 days self isolation. This makes it even more frustrating as its nothing about keeping people safe and is all about arrogant ministers feeling butt hurt. The UK expat community here is joking about the UK passport holder strain that must be going around.
Hoping for some resolution soon its been nearly 2 years since I saw friends and family and I have a very limited network here other than DP and a few casual friends I am very much on my own.

@newstart1234

I think Portugal will go amber. Isn’t Portugal currently holding the leadership position in the Eu council? Maybe that had something to do with the green list place. The cases are no lower than Finland or Denmark (When you take into consideration the number of tests done) it doesn’t make sense from the data so it must be political. Because the summer holidays are in August in the UK I think that’s when Europe will go green. Another thing I don’t understand about the UK at this point is that why isn’t there pressure on the politicians to get travel moving again, Like there was for pubs? Safe travel must be possible, the Eu have come up with a decent plan on this, I don’t know why there is no pressure for the UK to join it from the British population 🤷🏼‍♀️

In fact the political voices im hearing are more defending banning travelling abroad like few months ago rather than opening. Which is worse than the current situation

Labour are calling for all amber countries to be moved to the red list because it's too confusing But are ok with there being a green list. I genuinely can't comprehend that logic. How is it less risky for a person from a green country to stroll into UK regardless of their vaccination or antibody status, yet someone chock full of antibodies has to sit in a quarantine. Do they not think a variant could come from a green country as well? What are even the criteria for green or amber?
This is just bonkers.

I'm so angry with bloody Labour. I also feel terribly for BIL who finally booked to see his family in Portugal and will probably have to cancel. They haven't met DN. Neither have I here in Spain.

Meanwhile I can happily holiday anywhere I want in Europe. Just can't hug my Mum.

@Frezia

Labour are calling for all amber countries to be moved to the red list because it's too confusing But are ok with there being a green list. I genuinely can't comprehend that logic. How is it less risky for a person from a green country to stroll into UK regardless of their vaccination or antibody status, yet someone chock full of antibodies has to sit in a quarantine. Do they not think a variant could come from a green country as well? What are even the criteria for green or amber? This is just bonkers.

I’ve the feeling labour will always ask the opposite to what the government does, they’re in a easy position, not risking being on the eye shore so they can criticise whatever they want as it won’t affect them as bad as people will see that at least they’re trying to give ideas whilst bojo is doing everything wrong. (This is happening in madrid between the Spanish government and the local government )

But it doesn’t make sense , Spain is not as risky as India atm , it wasn’t banned for most of last year why ban it now.

I’ve read also comments about how awful it’s that the British are going around europe spreading the Indian variant ... it’s up to the governments the conditions they put for British to enter their country. If they don’t ask for anything (like Spain does) then it’s not British fault but Spanish if local people get infected. It’s all politics and trying to show that you’re doing something yet you’re doing nothing

@EasterIssland I agree, I think it's more than obvious now how political this is.
Isn't it strange how Portugal is going on the amber list a few days after the Champions League final was played there (between two English teams)? Now they can join the rest of the EU countries
They can claim their decisions are based on science and data all they want but it still makes no sense except political point scoring. And money, there's always money involved.

[quote Frezia]@EasterIssland I agree, I think it's more than obvious now how political this is.
Isn't it strange how Portugal is going on the amber list a few days after the Champions League final was played there (between two English teams)? Now they can join the rest of the EU countries
They can claim their decisions are based on science and data all they want but it still makes no sense except political point scoring. And money, there's always money involved. [/quote]
in that one I might disagree because the final wasn't meant to be there but in turkey (red) also uk wanted it to be in Wembley but it was Uefa who said no way with the restrictions in the uk we cant put it in the uk, so that's why Portugal was chosen

Can someone explain to me why the German health minister seems to be in Oxford today? Why can he swan about between the UK and Germany when the UK is currently such a ‘huge threat’ to the rest of Europe?

And how is Biden allowed to pop over from the US next week? Without quarantine no doubt?

I’m so effing sick of all the double standards.

@Schulte

Can someone explain to me why the German health minister seems to be in Oxford today? Why can he swan about between the UK and Germany when the UK is currently such a ‘huge threat’ to the rest of Europe?

And how is Biden allowed to pop over from the US next week? Without quarantine no doubt?

I’m so effing sick of all the double standards.

How are they all allowed to go to Cornwall next weekend is beyond my understanding

@ EasterIssland
True, I was thinking more that now there's no political or financial benefit to keeping Portugal on the green list anymore. I suppose they want us to stay in the UK and spend money here. Looking at Portugal stats I can't see how it warrants a change in status to be the same threat level as Vietnam with the concerning new variant.

@Frezia

@ EasterIssland True, I was thinking more that now there's no political or financial benefit to keeping Portugal on the green list anymore. I suppose they want us to stay in the UK and spend money here. Looking at Portugal stats I can't see how it warrants a change in status to be the same threat level as Vietnam with the concerning new variant.

Vietnam should go red asap

@Frezia

Labour are calling for all amber countries to be moved to the red list because it's too confusing But are ok with there being a green list. I genuinely can't comprehend that logic. How is it less risky for a person from a green country to stroll into UK regardless of their vaccination or antibody status, yet someone chock full of antibodies has to sit in a quarantine. Do they not think a variant could come from a green country as well? What are even the criteria for green or amber? This is just bonkers.

I suspect they are using a combination of rate of spread of Covid and vaccination speed. My guess is the cut off they are using is 30/100k in a 7 day period for low covid. That’s the cut of for low covid at home. With high being 100/100k and anything in between being medium. I’d guess they also look at weather the situation is improving or worsening.

In practice most of the green list countries are much lower than that, mostly because they have very strict border controls. I don’t think Portugal was ever likely to stay on the list long. It was quite close to the 30/100k and was only that low because it was just coming out of a lockdown at the time.

Home is hopefully opening up to people who are fully vaccinated from July, so I have my fingers crossed, I might be able to see my family ina few weeks. Ridiculously, I don’t want to get my hopes up too soon.

@Schulte

Can someone explain to me why the German health minister seems to be in Oxford today? Why can he swan about between the UK and Germany when the UK is currently such a ‘huge threat’ to the rest of Europe?

And how is Biden allowed to pop over from the US next week? Without quarantine no doubt?

I’m so effing sick of all the double standards.

Probably for the same ridiculous reasons that the Indian delegation were allowed to go all over the place and then turned out to have covid.

Wasnt there supposed to be a briefing at 5 but its not on now?

What a cowardly piece of shit. Can't defend his decision so he's ducked out.

I was reading today how disappointed Granada are that they haven't been green-lighted, they haven't had a positive case since February!

People in Greece (particularly the Greek Islands) are very very angry. I see a lot of "when the UK was the sick man of Europe last year they all wanted to come here and have a normal lovely holiday, to be free. Now we are all in a much better position and it's not allowed. We suddenly aren't good enough"

Spain too - reading between the lines in the press it seemed only on Monday and Tuesday that they’d more or less agreed to put at least the islands on green list and people were preparing to open businesses again.

The UK government is such a shower of shit.

My darling Portuguese friend was so excited to introduce her baby to her parents, he’s now nearly one. She is absolutely devastated, it so so cruel to have dangled a fucking carrot the way they did. Meanwhile on mumsnet, a poster in a very similar situation is being absolutely torn apart because foreign travel, under any circumstances, is the vilest thing a person can do, apparently.

Last year my cousin was telling me of a family in the next small town over.
The dad had previously worked in finance but had lost his job during the peak of greek austerity. Jobs were few and far between so he took a job at a Greek hotel group and his wife waited tables at a small family run hotel.
For a whole chunk of last year there was no work. None.
Their daughter collapsed outside a bakery so was taken to hospital thinking it was heatstroke or something. Turns out the family hadn't eaten in 3 days as they couldn't afford to.
Their neighbours rallied round and the support was amazing but it shouldn't come to that.
People who bang on about how we "need to spend money here" seem to forget that other countries have had no furlough or support and lives can literally depend on our tourism.

The truth is poverty also kills but no one cares cos you can't sneeze "poor" onto someone.

Exactly @LivinLaVidaLoki the constant trotting out of the “how could you be so selfish as to want to travel abroad” line completely disregards the thousands of livelihoods and in some awful cases lives lost due to the pandemic’s measures rather than the pandemic itself.

@QuentininQuarantino

Spain too - reading between the lines in the press it seemed only on Monday and Tuesday that they’d more or less agreed to put at least the islands on green list and people were preparing to open businesses again.

The UK government is such a shower of shit.

My darling Portuguese friend was so excited to introduce her baby to her parents, he’s now nearly one. She is absolutely devastated, it so so cruel to have dangled a fucking carrot the way they did. Meanwhile on mumsnet, a poster in a very similar situation is being absolutely torn apart because foreign travel, under any circumstances, is the vilest thing a person can do, apparently.

Tbh I think it was more speculation that anything else. Last week or the week before a Spanish minister was announcing that whole Spain would be green despite the uk hadn’t said anything. Then they said about the islands I read it in the British press as well but not a word from the government really so I think it was more wishful thinking from the media than a real agreement Last time I saw my nephew he was 8m and he was in hospital as he was quite ill. Next time I see him he’ll be nearly 2.5y. It’s been really tough, there are days I can’t be arsed to get up , I don’t care if mn thinks that me travelling to see my family next month is vile.

My friend just sent me this on WhatsApp if anyone wants to sign.

chng.it/MdmTFqvHdk

[quote LivinLaVidaLoki]My friend just sent me this on WhatsApp if anyone wants to sign.

chng.it/MdmTFqvHdk[/quote]
I’ve to say one of the sentences is not right as I’ll be travelling to a country that accepts British and it’s in the green list ...

@LivinLaVidaLoki God, that is absolutely heartbreaking.

Did anyone see Newsnight last night? I was really frustrated watching it - they kept saying vaguely 'there should be transparency around these decisions' but nobody was pointing out how completely irrational they are, and no amount of transparency could explain them. Why have a green list at all if places with virtually no covid are on it? Why are any of the countries that are on the list there? Is it because they're expensive, not-very-popular destinations for summer holidays, so the government don't expect people to go storming off to Iceland or the Falklands in huge numbers. I am sure the government can produce data to defend amber-listing Portugal, but the data is completely incontrovertible in the cases of so many countries that have been ignored.

I just wish I understood what's going through their minds. Are they just determined not to delay June 21st?

I’m worried about the direction of the British. They have stopped following the science. I’ve tried to find out how countries are assessed for their colour and all I’ve found is: the JCVI come up with recommendations based of the virus data and local measures (testing for variants etc.) and then ministers approve or otherwise based of ‘other considerations’. Does anyone know where one can find information on these ‘other considerations’? Are the details of these decisions be made public in any way? I despair, because no matter how well the virus in suppressed the ‘other considerations’ can get in the way. How can the UK have changed so much in so little time? Where is the pragmatism or moderation? Where is the fucking opposition??? I’m writing to Kier today 😠