Closing the borders: is it worth it any more?

[TomelettewithGreggs]

Let me say that I am not a scientist. I follow a few on Twitter. Some are saying that closing borders is a weak tool now that we have the vaccine and better testing. In particular, Ashish Jha of Brown University. In any case, Omicron is already in the UK and in most countries. Closing borders will just hurt global trade and the economy, and is not sustainable any more. Instead, he suggests better testing and the inevitable vaccine passports, or maybe even both.

What do people think?

No to closing the borders

Totally context dependent IMO.

I can understand why countries with a low number of cases and/or low vaccine uptake would attempt to keep omicron out - they'll be at risk of being far more impacted.

We are yet to discover how potent the virus is. If it can escape vaccines and causes greater illness, we really don’t want to import further cases which could seed all over the country

I think we should be closing the borders or quarantining people in hotels until we find out how dangerous it is. We just don’t know enough just now.

Closing the borders can work both ways of course With other countries keeping the UK out. Last year the dialogue was more about keeping the variants out of the UK ,but this year we know variants can be anywhere.

It seems it’s everywhere anyway.

Including in New Zealand. I just wonder how banning global travel can possibly work year after year when so many people are reliant on it.

The more omicron you let in the more of an establishing advantage it's got.

It's a false equivalence to say "we've got three cases so we might as well just let them all in. Nothing we can do now."

Finding potential cases, then testing and isolating and contact tracing is all very important.

But it's not an either/or proposition between that and some border controls.

Who is suggesting that the U.K. or any other country should take the unprecedented step of "closing borders"?

No to closing the borders. Day 2 tests should have stayed as pcr anyway just for the sequencing.

Tbh I don’t think they are attempting to keep the variant out. They knew if it wasn’t here already then it was only a matter of time.

They are trying to slow cases down and have picked a couple of restrictions that they know have the support of the majority of the public.

If they really wanted to drive cases down then they would just jump straight to limiting social contact and just face whatever opposition was thrown their way.

No. I am for a risk assessed policy - not a blanket ban for travel. The US had very strict border control against Europe, China, Brazil and South Africa and all of those variants made it in! China’s borders have been closed since March 2020 and the Delta variant still made it there and no doubt Omicron will be there shortly.

I think the government’s idea of self isolation until your PCR test comes back is a good idea.

No to closing borders. I think they should focus on building the infrastructure to enable fast testing at all airports. So you check in, go through security then go through for your swab. Results in hours. If flu mutates every year then surely covid will continue to mutate. Closing borders for every new variant is not feasible. How are we ever meant to get back to normal if we react by closing borders for each new variant??!

Yes. If we're not going even try to eliminate or eradicate covid then covid infrastructure will need to be part of our daily lives for the foreseeable decade.

Testing, tracing, isolation, air filtration, ventilation, WFH etc will need to become permanent.

For some like us - no. It is clear it is already here although day 2 PCR testing seems sensible.

For others I guess if you are lower down in vaccinations it makes sense to try and delay it.

The smart countries will close their borders. Fortunately for you, OP, the UK isn't one of the smart countries.

@Montecristocount

No to closing borders. I think they should focus on building the infrastructure to enable fast testing at all airports. So you check in, go through security then go through for your swab. Results in hours. If flu mutates every year then surely covid will continue to mutate. Closing borders for every new variant is not feasible. How are we ever meant to get back to normal if we react by closing borders for each new variant??!

I visited my home country in October. First I did a PCR here before leaving. Then when I arrived there, I was made to do another PCR in the airport and had to wait 5 hours for the result. I was ok with that because I did not want to carry anything to my mother. Speedier PCRs maybe.

Who knows. There's community transmission in Scotland now isn't there?

By the time we see spikes o/s it’s already here with community transmission

Idk what will become the standard after this variant

Werehamster - for some countries it makes sense. For others (such as us) there is very little point. It is clear that Omicron was here before it was even raised as an issue by South Africa and therefore shutting borders is pointless.

Day 2 PCR testing for travellers does make sense though.

For other countries it makes sense to. The correct decision will depend on factors and a balancing act that works for some and doesnt for others.

It hasn't worked anywhere till now, so why should this be any different. It might work if there hadn't been any cases of the new variant in the UK, but once it's here, it's here.

I don’t see how any spike with a variant wouldn’t be here already by the time we are concerned about it.

International travel passes it around far more quickly than we see the impact

I thought about this when speaking to a friend in Singapore. She runs a business and employs a number of people, but because Singapore shut borders last year, she was apart from her husband for months. She had a near nervous breakdown and now wants to move her business to another country. It is so hard for global economies to ban international travel. ( Japan just closed borders but they are not as global as Singapore) At the same time, Singapore has done so well with covid. I really think it is such a difficult balancing act for countries. I wonder if we can come up with better solutions.

Sorry if I sound completely stupid. I just had my booster and am spending too much time on MN because feel too fuzzy to do anything else!

It's too late anyway.

It's also entirely possible that we need Omicron to spread and become the dominant strain, if the initial evidence is correct and it's a weaker mutation.

@PrincessNutNuts

Yes. If we're not going even try to eliminate or eradicate covid then covid infrastructure will need to be part of our daily lives for the foreseeable decade.

Testing, tracing, isolation, air filtration, ventilation, WFH etc will need to become permanent.

This.

The quickest (and actually cheapest - taking into long-term consequences including, but not only, long covid) way out would be for the whole world to temporarily enact pandemic border control.

That doesn't mean no freight or emergency travel. It does mean strictly monitored genuinely essential travel only - with real quarantine.

• Stops the spread - so virus dies out with nowhere to go.

And

• Allows time to develop and manufacture more supplies of vaccines (just in case virus escapes) and the currently short supply drug treatments - the antivirals and monoclonal antibodies.

At the start of the pandemic, had the rest of the world done the same as much of Asia and Africa, NZ, and Australia, this all would've been over with 18 months ago.

It won't happen now (i don't think) but just because it won't doesn't mean it shouldn't.

Hopefully it really is a weaker mutation.

But we mustn't be complacent.

We need to be mindful of Long Covid - including the fact that many sufferers had initial mild infections.

Until we know more, we should take sensible precautions.

No panic - but proactive mitigations, yes.