Visit to the UK, knowing covid is in our local area

[WWYD8633567]

As the title says. It’s doing the rounds in our area of the UK, and in our social group (mostly primary aged kids). We are double jabbed but now getting antsy about going. Passing it to elderly parents and/or getting stuck there are the big concerns.

My sister says we are being silly and the risk was always there. My argument is that before it wasn’t in our group.

For context we’re in Europe with low case numbers and still some sensible measures. Haven’t been back to the uk since summer 2019, so keen to go… but… worried….

Thinking curtailing /canceling our trip, or is that OTT?

WWYD?

isn't covid circulating more in UK than wherever you live?

you can't stop your life forever. you're double jabbed. you can take lateral flow tests daily if you're worried. needn't pass it onto older relatives if you test daily. Your social group are surely sensible enough to stay away if they have covid? Sounds like you have anxiety issues rather than covid issues.

I think the uk and people in the uk test a lot more than many countries in Europe so the numbers always look higher. I’m in Europe too and have been back to England twice recently, including once for a big birthday party with lots of primary aged kids and everybody still all tested negative and got back home ok. If you keep putting it off, when are you ever going to see your family again? Better to go now while cases and travel restrictions are lower than they might be in another few months!

@lljkk yes it’s more prevalent in the UK

@ojojojoja nice sympathy I’m not sure how taking daily LFTs would help us. We’ll be staying with older relatives so if we get a positive result then surely it’s “too late”, in that we could transmit it to our parents, and then we would also be unable to return back to our expat home.

The very point of the trip is to catch up with friends and family, so yes we’ll avoid friends with covid but given our all the friends we would want to see all have DC in the same school/class it feels like we’d actually need to avoid most, if not all, of them. Thus negating the point of the trip.

For example, home tests are not really a thing where I live and I know nobody who tests every 2 days like I know quite a lot in the uk do. Also I know many parents who don’t test their kids anymore as they just can’t afford the time off work and I think attitudes to cases have changed since most vulnerable people are now protected.

It feels like it’s absolutely rife here, partly because of the rule that no one has to isolate if they’re double jabbed or under 18. But the vaccines don’t appear to be stopping people getting it, just keeping it fairly mild.

So you would be at risk of getting it but the risk that will be harmful to you or relatives is low.
You could meet friends outside to reduce risk

*don’t have to isolate after being in close contact with a positive case I mean

Covid is here to stay OP. It's here now, it will be here in six months and in a year's time. If you're happy to put off your trip, go ahead, but understand that there may never be a perfect time to come.

Obviously I don't know where in the UK you are talking about but everywhere I go life is back to normal and it's actually strange now to read that overseas visitors might be hesitant to come here

I don't know anyone who is getting covid other than via a child at school, I only know a couple of people who are stil wfh, the only sign that there's been a pandemic is mask wearing and very tatty looking signs about social distance

I'm not saying the no one is still affected, of course they are but anyone choosing to visit isn't going to be in one of those categories

@Lostinacloud but were there confirmed cases doing the rounds in those groups you saw?

I’m actually pretty relaxed about it, but now pissed off we will have to miss seeing some people because they are tag-teaming covid in their household and therefore isolating.

YANBU to be cautious as presumably catching COVID away from home would make things trickier i.e. delayed flights, time off work and school. However for me I would be desperate to see family and so would probably take the risk. You can mitigate risks e.g. suggesting days out with friends at a park etc (obviously weather dependent). I think you also need to be realistic about the actual level of risk. It's probably not as high as you think. However if the consequences are too high e.g. can't afford time off work if your return was delayed, then it's understandable to postpone.

@WWYD8633567
To be honest with you, my niece had spent a school day and then sleepover with a friend who tested positive the day before we were due to meet all our friends and family. My niece and her family all had negative lateral flow tests before they came but it didn’t put me off, I was just desperate to see everyone. I have thoroughly moved to the ‘time to get on with life camp’ and waste no more time not seeing family though so may not be as cautious as some.

Indeed we have to get back for school and work.

Perhaps we just reduce how many people we see. Avoid friends knowing “the risk” is higher there and just focus on seeing family.

@Lostinacloud yes we have been quite ambivalent as well several trips around other places in Europe this year on holiday etc. But this news of it going through my friends has made us feel uneasy with it being a bit closer to home.

On the other hand… if lots of your friends have had it and recovered then those ones should be ok to see!

The reason the numbers are so high in the IL is that they are testing too many people too often. Look at some of the boards on here and you’ll see that COVID texting had become a national pastime in the UK with people testing every time they feel a slight headache or cough more than once an hour.

It’s never going away. We still have the flu 100 years after the first pandemic. This will be the same. If you’re going to wait for COVID to be “over” before you see your family again, you won’t be seeing them in this lifetime.

If you’re healthy and vaccinated then there are many other things that have a higher risk of death than COVID, such as car crashes.

@AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair

Obviously I don't know where in the UK you are talking about but everywhere I go life is back to normal and it's actually strange now to read that overseas visitors might be hesitant to come here

I don't know anyone who is getting covid other than via a child at school, I only know a couple of people who are stil wfh, the only sign that there's been a pandemic is mask wearing and very tatty looking signs about social distance

I'm not saying the no one is still affected, of course they are but anyone choosing to visit isn't going to be in one of those categories

That's not really true. We're having about 40,000 cases a day and have been for months. I know plenty of fully vaccinated adults getting it.

The worry for travellers is a positive test, rather than covid itself. Having to stay 7-10 days longer than planned and splash out money for that is a headache.

We travelled in July when it felt like things were still a little risky., We prioritised seeing family and we minimised our interaction with other people.