[quote EileenGC]**@Baileysforchristmas We’re high risk country because we are testing so much. Do you not think it’s strange EU countries numbers are going down so fast but they are opening up more than us and they have less people vaccinated?
Hit the nail on the head.
I will respectfully disagree.
The EU isn't testing as much, you say?
I'm in an EU country and up until 5 days ago, and beginning late February, we have had to test for:
Going to the hairdressers.
Going to a non essential shop (so anything except supermarket and pharmacy).
Sitting down to eat at an outdoors restaurant or coffee shop.
Taking part in an outdoors sport activity with more than 1 other person.
Attending a church service or some types of appointments.
Attending a play, concert, or going to the cinema.
Plus school staff and students every 2 days, companies who still had people coming in to the offices were also required by law to test everyone twice a week. Add to these the general recommendation for everyone to test themselves regularly.
Home tests are not accepted for any of the above. You must book an appointment at a testing centre close to your house or whatever shop you're visiting, where they perform the test and email you the results, in an official format, after 15 minutes. Only this email, plus a tracing app AND an appointment (be that at Primark, the pub, or your beauty salon) allows you in. There is no leeway. You cannot refuse to scan the tracing app, and your QR code won't be activated unless you give your real name and contact details, and verify them twice.
Tests must be taken on the day, so you can only reuse a test if you visit several places on the same day. At one point I was testing every single day. The economy started to reopen so people started going to all these places, and therefore testing themselves almost non-stop.
Honestly, people in the UK need to stop saying the EU isn't testing, the EU isn't vaccinating fast enough, the EU didn't have a hard enough lockdown.
I doubt anyone in the UK is testing themselves before each and every outing that's not to a supermarket. I doubt 20 year olds will be fully vaccinated by next month (I'm early 20s and will be, as second doses are given within 5 weeks). My similarly aged friends in England have second doses booked for the end of September. Three months after their first ones. When the country is full of the delta variant, which will soon also spread to Europe as we resume travel (for which I have nothing against, if done safely). So I'd suggest people educate themselves before saying other countries don't test or vaccinate enough, because that might've been true 4 months ago but clearly isn't anymore.[/quote]
Bravo ! I'm so tired of people still thinking Europe is ' way behind ' and still suffering very high cases... it's more complex than that and it's not a competition that the UK has somehow won. Everything has been shit everywhere at different times in different ways. Europe is catching up with the vaccines BIG time. It's no longer the same situation as in Feb. Move on already.