Who's currently cancelling their holiday to Portugal then?

[diggingatrench]

@YoureGoingToHateMe

redrivershore I’m guessing the theory that travel is being prevented to minimise climate change. Which is obviously shite when you consider Boris is still pushing for an airport to be built in the Thames Estuary.

And the fact we've kept the borders open throughout, allowing all kinds of Covid and variants in last summer (Kent was detected here but was probably imported in) and inaction over India this year.

I don't see any concern by Johnson's Government on climate change

Oh there isn't, but who mentioned honesty when there are votes to be had and voters to be influenced?

Nowadays the Tory party are pretty much in permanent electioneering mode and you've only got to look at many of the comments here to see that a reduction in flying is regarded as a "good thing" by many..there may well not be a GE in the offing but every by-election is an opportunity..

There is a lot more to this than simply controlling the virus..

I’m beginning to think that the green/amber status may well become irrelevant as the Indian variant sweeps through the country. Germany have already put us on their “red list”, i imagine it won’t be long until others do the same

But why isn't the vaccine stopping it? Or is the only effect to stop people getting severe symptoms, which is worthwhile, but not stop the spread?

@Peregrina

But why isn't the vaccine stopping it? Or is the only effect to stop people getting severe symptoms, which is worthwhile, but not stop the spread?

Few under 50's have had 2 jabs. Under 30's haven't had a jab. Most in their 30's won't have had a jab 3+ weeks ago.

I’m 33 and struggling to boom my first jab in Bristol

@Needanewhat

Why people would even have booked a holiday abroad this year is beyond me

It was obvious it was going to go tits up

Agreed!

@Katie517

It’s an absolute joke! We are due to go end of July and will be cancelling if it doesn’t get back in the green list at the next review. It’s a farce people are vaccinated, paying for tests at their own expense at vastly inflated prices and it’s still not good enough, we are still expected to imprison ourselves in our homes on return even though we will have tested negative before getting on the plane and on day 2. Anyone who thought vaccines were our ticket to freedom must be feeling very silly now. Meanwhile business travelers and government officials can jet here there and everywhere with no isolation period, you couldn’t make this shit up.

It's just this government who are using covid as a way to control people's lives, which they seem to delight in doing.

@Tzimi

Do you have some coherent reasons as to why they would do this?

tzimi are you suggesting the government are doing this simply because they are on a power trip? Bit weird

@YoureGoingToHateMe

tzimi are you suggesting the government are doing this simply because they are on a power trip? Bit weird

Ok, maybe not entirely, they also want to make money from people having to self-isolate in hotels and from all the extra covid tests they have to take.

Think about it.

Why would a conservative government, one that loves for people to spend money, close places where people can spend money?

Put it this way. PCR test in France 10€.
Two PCR tests in UK, prices starting at £80, but we paid £116 each.

Why exactly is the same test nearly seven times the price? Someone somewhere is making a tidy bit of money.

@2021Vision

we have a responsibiity, as a high risk country, to not go spreading new strains abroad

The problem is that the government did nothing to stop the now dominant Indian variant into this country. Why were so many people in India? hundreds of flights were put on to get people back. This is a section of the UK population who we've been told over and over are more likely to catch covid and are more likely to be against the variant. This was a perfect storm situation.

Many many people HAVE taken responsbility only to watch others flout all the rules and the government not take advantage of our vaccination situation. This new variant was welcomed in with open arms by the government, they could have stopped it. They seem to think that we will all just keep complying, just why would we because we are let down at every turn.

Couldn’t agree more

tzimi do you think the government is making more money from selling PCR tests and getting the few people that can travel to isolate in hotels afterwards than they would if planes were flying full of people? People who would be buying new holiday clothes, spending money in all the shops airside at airports, spending money at travel agents who could come off furlough and earn money that they need to pay tax on? That’s ludicrous.

peregrina absolutely some people are making a lot of money from PCR tests. This money in no way compares to the amount of money currently being haemorrhaged by an entire industry being unable to operate.

@diggingatrench

Think about it.

Why would a conservative government, one that loves for people to spend money, close places where people can spend money?

They're fascists, who knows why they do what they do?

What is wrong with you people. Up in arms because you can't have the holiday you "deserve" . Thank God I will die within the next six months.

They're fascists, who knows why they do what they do?

You have no coherent arguments but continue to think you're right. Bizarre really

They're fascists

Killing the vulnerable? That is indeed a popular policy amongst fascists.

I must say again. I'm surprised the ardent defenders of freedom on here aren't making any noise on behalf of Oxfordshire's smokers. Re the proposal to take away their freedom to smoke outside (whilst breathing in car fumes).

Think of poor old David Cameron. (I think he's still a smoker.) They want to take away his freedom to have a puff outside one of his local pubs.

I think anyone who booked a holiday abroad in this last year is stuipd to do so, apart from people seeing family who haven't seen for over year and live abroad i understand somewhat. We r living in q pandemic! What do people expect, its not like its a massive shock holidays need cancelling!

Perhaps the French gov are not charging as much for tests because French people are not stupid enough to pay over the odds to travel abroad on holiday?

I think 'stupid' is a bit harsh, more naive if they hadn't realised there was always going to be a risk.

@Peregrina

Put it this way. PCR test in France 10€. Two PCR tests in UK, prices starting at £80, but we paid £116 each.

Why exactly is the same test nearly seven times the price? Someone somewhere is making a tidy bit of money.

We managed to get them for Dd for £60 each from Randox using the airline discount code.

Dd booked the lab for hers in Portugal before coming back, using one linked to from the U.K. gov site - €100. We've since read you can just use an LFT to come back which are about €20 a go. Was too late for us, but lesson learned not to follow the gov.uk recommendations!

Luckily flight tickets were very cheap at £36 so the tests on top don't seem so bad as flights when we went a few years back were a fair bit dearer. Plus it's only for one person.

The hassle of it all and if paying for more people would definitely put me off. Especially when fully vaccinated and have antibodies from Covid itself (antibody results came back two weeks ago, covid 7 months ago.) also annoys me that we aren't allowed to use the LFT ones I have to do twice a week for the one when coming back and have to buy one privately before or find an pharmacist doing them over there. It wouldn't cost the government anymore to let me use the same lft (they accept lft tests for returning to England) that they want me to do twice weekly anyway!