COVID - should I cancel Holliday?

[Whowherewhywhat]

Hi, unfortunately both my DS and I got positive PCRs last week.
To cut a long story short, does anyone know how long after you’ve had symptoms / positive PCR test, will either a LF or PCR test continue to show positive?
I ask, as both our isolation periods end this Friday 15th Oct but we are due to fly on holiday on the 23rd Oct and whilst I am double jabbed so I won’t need a PCR before I fly, my DS isn’t as he is 16 (he had the jab booked for the day he got a positive!).
Do you think a PCR is still likely to show positive then? Trying to work out whether to cancel holiday or not? Thanks

Three of us had confirmed covid last month in our household.

Dd2 on 11 Septmber, DD1 on 14 September and me 20 September. All on PCR. We are also part of the ONS covid testing so have a swab test every month, which was on 4 October. DD1 and I were negative on that and DD2'S came back positive, even though she was the first to have it in the household.

I think in my case it comes down to wording.
Mine and my DS PCR test positive on 8th Oct - therefore,
We will not have had outside the 14 rule by one day.
However the one that concerns me is the close contact -
My Hubby, DS2 and DD1 are all fine and as soon as myself snd DS1 took the test we isolated in our own rooms , had everything brought to us snd had been left at the door (poor hubby running around like a lunatic 🤦‍♀️) and have been very strict - therefore I would claim there had been no close contact t as we haven’t been in the same room with the others and won’t be iny our isolations finish - this would mean 15days - is that fair interpretation due you think?

@Whowherewhywhat
That’s close contact. If you are on day 15th, fine. If not, it is close contact.

@Wtf86

Find someone negative and do their nostril!! If you’re recovered who is going to know?!

Good grief.

therefore I would claim there had been no close contact t as we haven’t been in the same room with the others
That won’t wash, all household contact is close contact. If you have the same address they will call it close contact. And you would have been infectious for up to 48 hrs before you first had symptoms.
Anyway, there’s a significant chance one of the others will come down with it in the next few days.
I’m sorry about your holiday, it’s rubbish.

Does anyone know if the 14 days close contact starts from day of positive test or 14 days from end of isolation?

@Angrynellie

Does anyone know if the 14 days close contact starts from day of positive test or 14 days from end of isolation?

Hi That’s pretty much what I am trying to ask using the email address above but I don’t hold out much hope I should also have 2 negative pcrs per parent by then from nhs testing but not sure they will help either from recent postings….

Thanks @sleepwouldbenice I’m not holding out much hope for us either.
I think we’ll end up cancelling or rebooking for a différent date, as I think my DS PCR will come back positive (got 2 positive LTF).
Plus my other DS, DD, DH and I need to avoid catching it in the interim too. We’re double jabbed but our other kids have just had 1. It’s shit 😒

[quote LaBrujaPiruja]@Whowherewhywhat
That’s close contact. If you are on day 15th, fine. If not, it is close contact.[/quote]
Hi can I check my dates please

Day0 per test and trace due to headache. 4th Oct
Confirmed 5th Oct by pcr
Out of isolation this Friday
Flight 23rd Oct

I thought that if their period of isolation crossed the 14 days before the flight ( or even 16 days as you do firm 2 days beforehand) you were stuffed

Is that correct please

@LaBrujaPiruja sorry meant to tag in above, useless at this....

The UK is currently tracking at 40,000 cases per day, Spain is at somewhere below 2,000. Despite what is going on in individual countries, I think travel at this stage from the UK is unwise and I cannot believe that the rest of Europe has not put the UK on an amber or red list.

This thread made me realise the same applies to France, you have to sign a declaration that you haven't had contact with a covid case for 14 days prior. So thank you for bringing it to attention but this feels like Chrisrnas 2020 all over again. The family are distraught that we can't visit . Dreading telling the kids and hopefully the dc won't blame themselves.

Those of you that have trips booked and are cancelling - does your insurance cover you or are you taking a hit yourselves?

The 14 days may have scuppered it, but you can get your teen to do a LAMP test within 48 hrs of departure rather than a PCR and I believe they are less sensitive.

@ChateauMargaux

The UK is currently tracking at 40,000 cases per day, Spain is at somewhere below 2,000. Despite what is going on in individual countries, I think travel at this stage from the UK is unwise and I cannot believe that the rest of Europe has not put the UK on an amber or red list.

We are on orange - hence the measures in place that are preventing people going on holiday. All the testing, declarations etc designed to be both a hindrance to spread and allow the tourism that they need

Red is for variants that appear that other countries dont have. Given Delta's effectiveness at taking on other variants

dd was negative, doubled jabbed, very quickly and was able to travel, she did tell the tester in the hope of a lighter test!

@sleepwouldbenice

I would say it depends on the date of the contact and the date you have had symptoms, if any. I do not know what happens if you have actually had covid.

Bear in mind we have not had it and this last travel (I have had to travel to Spain multiple times in the last year due to having to organise care for my elderly parents) was the first one after I had had some sort of contact with a positive (I do not even know who it was! It appears it was someone on a return flight to the UK a couple of weeks earlier but it was an almost empty flights and nobody was near us) but none of us had tested positive. Btw, T&T were a little bit useless, could not confirm when the contact had happened, assumed it had been during the flight because of the dates but I spoke with three different persons and they told me different things!

I would contact Public Health Spain and ask them directly. I have travelled to three different airports during these past months and the controls have been different…
Barcelona - only once, but no control at all (but this time was just before the QR code was a requisite)
Valencia - very strict controls, temperature check (by infrared cameras or whatever they are), review of all travel documents (PCR results, vaccination certificate)
Alicante - depends on the time of the day as it is a much busier airport than Valencia; temperature check (same system as above) and QR code control but the review of documents is to passengers randomly selected (sometimes very few, sometimes almost everybody on the flight)

UK is a “risk zone” for Public Health Spain.

www.spth.gob.es/more

@roses2

Those of you that have trips booked and are cancelling - does your insurance cover you or are you taking a hit yourselves?

I think my policy is unclear tbh. It says you can claim a full refund for a positive test within 14 days of travel. We would be at 16 days for DS, but we would all have had contact with a positive case within the 14 days which is Spain’s terms for entry if you see what I mean. Plus DS would need to pass a PCR after positive result.

[quote LaBrujaPiruja]@sleepwouldbenice

I would say it depends on the date of the contact and the date you have had symptoms, if any. I do not know what happens if you have actually had covid.

Bear in mind we have not had it and this last travel (I have had to travel to Spain multiple times in the last year due to having to organise care for my elderly parents) was the first one after I had had some sort of contact with a positive (I do not even know who it was! It appears it was someone on a return flight to the UK a couple of weeks earlier but it was an almost empty flights and nobody was near us) but none of us had tested positive. Btw, T&T were a little bit useless, could not confirm when the contact had happened, assumed it had been during the flight because of the dates but I spoke with three different persons and they told me different things!

I would contact Public Health Spain and ask them directly. I have travelled to three different airports during these past months and the controls have been different…
Barcelona - only once, but no control at all (but this time was just before the QR code was a requisite)
Valencia - very strict controls, temperature check (by infrared cameras or whatever they are), review of all travel documents (PCR results, vaccination certificate)
Alicante - depends on the time of the day as it is a much busier airport than Valencia; temperature check (same system as above) and QR code control but the review of documents is to passengers randomly selected (sometimes very few, sometimes almost everybody on the flight)

UK is a “risk zone” for Public Health Spain.

www.spth.gob.es/more[/quote]
Thanks for your reply

I have emailed the details given, see what they say. I suspect in total you need 2 (days before to fill in the form) + 14 (days when contact is an issue) + 10/11 days (UK process for self isolation) clear to be able to go....

If I hear I will let eveyone know

@Emsmaman

This thread made me realise the same applies to France, you have to sign a declaration that you haven't had contact with a covid case for 14 days prior. So thank you for bringing it to attention but this feels like Chrisrnas 2020 all over again. The family are distraught that we can't visit . Dreading telling the kids and hopefully the dc won't blame themselves.

rubbish isnt it

@Quartz2208

Just a quick point. My cousin works (high in the hierarchy) in a government department (Spain) dealing with tourism and back in June / early July she kept me posted of developments. She said there was much more pressure to open to tourism from British tour operators and airlines than from the local tourism industry, who were happy with the national tourists and some EU tourists (not every single country) and were up for delaying the opening of the country to Brit tourists. At one point they had daily meetings with tour operators, airline representatives and even the consuls, all pressing for the opening in order to help some Brit industries.

So it is not all in the interests of Spain’s (or Italy’s, or France’s) tourism industry.

@LaBrujaPiruja yes it is a two way street but allowing tourism benefits everyone. It is why the US/Australia is finally opening as well. Because closed borders arent going to keep Delta out. These measures reduce the number of cases though that come in

Politics play a HUGE part in all of this though always have. It is interesting though that they did concede - one wonders not because they need it now but because if they dont in the longer term it might cause an issue. Either way though the benefits of allowing control tourism outweigh the negatives of shutting out the UK

Having us on a Orange/Amber list makes perfect sense. It was in response to a poster who asked why we werent on a risk list.

Closed borders is about variants as much as anything

Yes, that’s it. I’m fed up of people thinking “they need our trade”. I’m sorry, but most of the profit is for the Brit tour operators, so stop talking nonsense.

What is wrong with saying that tourism and international travel being allowed with sensible restrictions benefits everyone (not including the enviroment)? @LaBrujaPiruja I am bemused as to exactly what you think is wrong with that.

Spain have us on a risk list - we aren't allowed to use a recovery certificate because of it but unless there is another variant closing tourism off from the UK has far more downsides than upsides. Controlling it in the way that they do makes sense.

I am not commenting on the British Tour Operators bit because that is a separate discussion.

Maybe I have not made myself clear? Or you missed my point?
What I am saying is that people in the UK claiming these countries are open because they need their custom, their tourism, is nonsense. It is much more complex than that.