France bans UK travellers

[XmasSadface]

Could we maybe stop doing so much testing in the UK so we stop reporting these case rises which makes us look worse than countries that dont test?

PS: I totally get the point of vaccination and am triple jabbed. But what's the point of the vaccine PASSES if having one makes zero difference? Now I'm triple jabbed I'm considering not getting any more boosters as you still have to mess around testing like an unvaccinated person

@Delatron

Was wondering about America. Have a friend due to travel over here and she is worried as ‘it’s so awful over there (England)’ which I understand as travel at the moment is tricky. But I’m not sure how things are in the US? You just don’t hear much. Do the press not whip things up like they do over here? Do they think they won’t have an Omicron problem?

This is going to be a worldwide issue. We’re not just the plague island over here.

Yeah, this feels very different to Alpha. I understood the closing of the borders to the U.K. then, doomed as it was.

Omicron has seeded pretty much everywhere already, and it did not begin in the U.K. We are just a few doubling times ahead of other nations. Although with France I’m not even convinced that’s true. They had a record 65,000 cases yesterday and they don’t test as much as us. They also have lot of links to Africa, so seeding would have begun early.

The US is a few weeks behind us IMO. That it’s already taking out entire professional sports teams there says something. They’re not making a big deal of it. Yet. I suspect the US will ultimately be one of the worst affected countries as it still has a sizeable number of older unvaccinated citizens with no underlying immunity.

This place sometimes... when UK banned the African countries, on MN there were posters congratulating the government for their fast action and saying it was the right thing to do. Now UK has been banned and it is all political, unfair and sad people won't see families.\

Well, 2weeks ago, there were a whole bunch of us talking about not seeing our families in those African countries but we were told government action was correct and fast. Now we know it was an entirely useless action and this variant is here to stay. France may well discover as well that it is a useless action to take in time but they are a sovereign nation and can do what they want to protect their people.

Even if it is political, so what? The UK banning 11 African countries hastily and without scientific proof and against WHO advice was also felt to be political and to appease the public sentiment here especially after the criticism of slow action over banning travel from India when the Delta variant was discovered

We have yet again had to move our Christmas at Disneyland for the kids to next year. All booked originally for December 2020! As such I've been following the French cases, news, consulate, etc closely. French case rates are similar to ours, their hospitalisation and deaths are similar if not worse than ours. Yet they test a lot less and sequence a lot less. It is laughable to think they a) haven't got omicron already seeded in the population and b) that a British tourist that has already tested to get into a country is more of a risk than those free to travel on a vaccine passport (I had my booster in Oct. Still have covid caught from primary school DD). I suspect much of it is politically motivated given the tensions between us and France.

France has more positive cases as a % of tests carried out and higher proportion of those positive tests being Omicron. They can bring in whatever rules they like but does seem somewhat political.

Dr. Susan Hopkins says that for Omicron, the R value is between 3 and 5 in the UK, and that the variant is spreading rapidly - doubling in size every two days.

Sweet lord.

The current R value of the Delta epidemic in the UK is estimated to be between 1.1 and 1.2.

It's not political.

Macron should focus on getting his vaccine uptake rate up as its lower than the official figures, one of my sisters neighbours has bought a vaccine pass, apparently this is a thing now (it costs shit loads though and presumably you have to buy a new one every 6 months

False docs are a problem worldwide…(including uk)

OTOH actual figures on those vaccinated come out of the vaccination centre so so I’m not sure why you are conflating the two issues.

@notimagain thanks

@GirlWithTheYellowHat

Does anyone know if French residents can travel to the uk and back, or is this banned too?

Yes, they can. I’m stressing because we are due to relocate to France in early January. Rules seem to suggest that we can still go as we are joining my EU, French resident husband there.

Rules state that you need to isolate for 48 hrs and then take a -ve test.

He did this last year (remember the lorry drivers?) and is a politician so will do what allows him to stay in power and buy time like we did when we stopped South African flights.

It's sad for the people who are stuck and we know that a travel ban will just delay cases until it's lifted but he will look tough in front of the fishermen

@milkyaqua

It's not political.

It really is. I don’t think you understand just how fraught and antagonistic the relationship between France and the U.K. currently is. I know sneering at the U.K. from your lofty perch in Oz is a sport for you, but perhaps ask yourself what public health purpose is served by banning British arrivals when France has as much Omicron as the U.K. and an open border to Denmark?

Of course its political. Politicians everywhere are dicking around with our lives to keep electorates happy.

And here he goes again.
It's almost like he has elections this year and things are not going well for him.

How about Belgium? Switzerland? Any other country? Their own French Omicron cases?

No idea on whether it’s politically motivated but it doesn’t make sense in terms of numbers

@milkyaqua

It's not political.

He was in exactly the same situation with Alpha then Delta and look what happened. If he could ban travellers from other EU countries he probably would but we are the only neighbours that he can ban because of Brexit

I live in a French ski region and I have to say I am kind of relieved, although I do really feel sorry for families with plans ruined and businesses and resorts, especially those focused on the UK market.

There are thousands of British skiers who had planned holidays over the next few weeks. It's not about trying to stop Omicrom it is trying to slow it down, get as many people as possible with their 3rd dose and having lots of people arrive from a hotspot to do a sport where a certain % of them will end up in hospital anyway is probably not a great idea. Plus lots of our health service will spend their time testing tourists and what happens to those tourists that get infected and can't get back to the UK? Even if they are vaccinated and don't need medical attention, they will need to be tested, isolate and monitored in an area with little accomodation capacity at high season.

75% of the French ski trade is domestic, less than 10% from UK. We're desparately trying to have a ski season this year for our local economy, at least locals can go home to isolate.

EU restrictions will be made on an EU-wide basis, and I wouldn't be surprised if there are extra restrictions placed on EU residents in the coming weeks but the UK is a third country so it is a bilateral decision.

It's definitely political. If it's not, what's another reason for doing this?

To all those complaining - Do you know the restrictions that the UK placed on people coming in from France 2 weeks ago?

PCR test before leaving, PCR test on day 2 (and isolate whilst waiting for results).

And this is despite us being triple vaccinated.

Which totally cancelled our Christmas plans to see family and go to the theatre.

OP if your sister lives in France she is allowed to travel under the French rules

All residents can travel home to France

@XmasSadface

So Europe doesnt work as one on this but it does work as one with respect to not banning travel between EU countries?

Cases are going crazy in Ireland, doesnt this make Macron nervous?

Cases have stabilised a bit in Ireland, albeit at levels higher than desired

@InvincibleInvisibility

To all those complaining - Do you know the restrictions that the UK placed on people coming in from France 2 weeks ago?

PCR test before leaving, PCR test on day 2 (and isolate whilst waiting for results).

And this is despite us being triple vaccinated.

Which totally cancelled our Christmas plans to see family and go to the theatre.

Same for us, cancelled trip from France to UK a couple of weeks back when the UK restrictions started to ramp up…

I think many people are not at all aware that for most of the late summer the Uk restrictions were always more onerous than those imposed by France.

That’s the way things were and I don’t think it crossed many in any minds to start blaming it on Boris being petty or the restrictions being maintained out of spite….

@InvincibleInvisibility

To all those complaining - Do you know the restrictions that the UK placed on people coming in from France 2 weeks ago?

PCR test before leaving, PCR test on day 2 (and isolate whilst waiting for results).

And this is despite us being triple vaccinated.

Which totally cancelled our Christmas plans to see family and go to the theatre.

This was also a political decision to appease the UK electorate after the backlash over Delta but by the time these things are detected they're often already half way around the world! I suspect the fact we refused to lift these restrictions were part of why the French government retaliated. The WHO repeatedly warn against travel restrictions and yet countries continue to impose them. Hopefully, next year the situation will be nearer 'normal' and everyone can travel a bit more freely. Especially those that want to see family and friends in different countries.

But surely they will allow those Brits who have a home over there? And French nationals who are going to visit family?

What's the difference, say, if they all normally live in London...just because you have a French passport, it won't make you immune to Omicron

Or do they need more of a compelling reason apart from "visiting family for Christmas"?

I do wonder if other countries will follow them eg Italy, Spain

@InvincibleInvisibility

To all those complaining - Do you know the restrictions that the UK placed on people coming in from France 2 weeks ago?

PCR test before leaving, PCR test on day 2 (and isolate whilst waiting for results).

And this is despite us being triple vaccinated.

Which totally cancelled our Christmas plans to see family and go to the theatre.

And not only from France. I'm in Italy, triple vaxxed and in a region with a 1.8 positivity rate at the moment. I work in a school with over 990 students and last Friday we had our FIRST case in the school since September. Yet if I want to come to the UK where I've not been since 2019 I have to test/isolate/test?