cauchy

We were talking about the casual contacts, not the index case.

In any case, the latest Office for National Statistics figures, which are a week out of date, say 1 in 500 people have COVID. So yes, if you get on a plane at LHR this week there's a reasonable chance that someone on it has COVID. There's a good chance that someone who's been in contact with a COVID case is on that flight. Getting on a plane means risking COVID.

Yeah, less than 40 deaths in England in people under 40 with no pre-existing conditions. Driving in a car is more dangerous, especially as a chunk of these will be healthcare workers with high viral load exposures. Of course for high risk members of society the situation is totally different and the risks are massive. The reason numbers are rising is an inevitable rebalancing of responsibility to the vulnerable and to society as a whole. Not all countries will strike the balance in the same way.

London21

crew know the risk. Rules are rules

Dan72

Yes, but the population of the UK includes many people over 40. Indeed I imagine the number of people over forty or with an underlying condition is at least half the population, so I'm not sure it provides the evidence for a glib response.

A lot of people have died and there are more important things than aviation.

Confus

Given that BA have been testing HKG-bound crews prior to operating the flight (in line with HK regulations for air crew), an important question is why this was not picked up earlier. If tests are giving false negative results then this should be concerning for everyone who says increased testing is a way out of this mess. (I don’t know which tests BA uses, but I’ve long had doubts about self-administered ones, as people are far less rigorous in shoving things up their own nostrils than a professional would be.)

Im a new user

What happens if the passenger doesn't have a mobile phone or doesn't have one with the correct operating system?

So if one passenger is positive, all passengers end up in quarantine? Would crew members also end up in quarantine in this situation? Do the passengers end up in quarantine if a crew member is positive? What was the fate of the passengers when a BA crew member tested positive?

Maybe BA tested too early? If the virus can't be detected upon departure, then BA won't know that the crew member is positive. Then the crew member spends several hours on a flight before the Hong Kong authorities test the crew member and it could become easier to detect the crew member's virus infection in the meantime.

If BA doesn't want to send their crew to quarantine in Hong Kong, could they choose to operate LHR-XXX-HKG or LHR-HKG-XXX instead? Assuming that a suitable XXX location could be found for crew rest.

Prospero

I understand the crew were tested on arrival into HKG, they may also have subject to preflight testing, that I don’t know. Reportedly, in a follow up test two days later one crew member tested positive - this person was said to have been asymptomatic and was transferred to a hospital in Hong Kong. Her cabin crew colleagues were transferred to a quarantine facility.

kontrakobra

So you think you know better than medical doctors and infectious disease experts?

Again an example of the selfish attitude that is sadly so prevalent - you're under 40 (presumably) so it probably won't kill you, and you don't care.
You don't care about accidentally spreading it to people who older / more unfortunate than you, who may contract the disease and die.

I'm just glad that not everyone is like you.

cauchy

Might have been reported upthread, but this is what is being done. KLM stops in Bangkok, United in Guam.

brunos

Here are the regulations as of 29 July:
"Air crew travelling between Hong Kong and the Mainland, Macao, Taiwan or foreign places to perform their duties

• All air crew must have a negative result of nucleic acid test for COVID-19 done at an ISO 15189-accredited laboratory or a laboratory recognised by the Government where the laboratory is located, with the specimen collected within 48 hours prior to boarding the flight to Hong Kong. Otherwise, the air crew must take a nucleic acid test for COVID-19 at the Temporary Specimen Collection Centre (TSCC) of the Department of Health (DH) upon arrival at the Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) and wait for the test results there or at any other designated location.

• Airlines must arrange point-to-point transportation for their air crew to travel between the HKIA and their place of accommodation and prohibit the use of public transportation which will serve the general public at the same time. Airlines should also ensure that their air crew will self-isolate at a designated location in accordance with DH's requirements. Air crew should strictly observe the principle of minimising contact with the local community during their stay in Hong Kong."

https://www.info.gov.hk/gia/general/...0072600440.htm

Agent69

About 150 people a month die in car crashes compared to about 10,000 a month as a result of covid (thats 60,000 excess deaths over the last 6 months). The fact that there have been only a small number of deaths recently leads to the complacency that you appear to support.

cauchy

It was closer to 110 people a month last year, and of those, around 50 per month were under 40. So yes, due to the control measures, for those without pre-existing conditions and under 40, the roads are very roughly about 10 times as dangerous. But these details don't really matter - I should have made my point by saying that a fear-mongering policy eventually gets found out. Perhaps this is what is now happening across Europe.

Dan72

There's been over 50,000 deaths in the UK. For the majority of people and the government that's a problem. It's a democracy and that's where we are. It appears you don't like that, but I doubt your factoids will shift the debate in your favour.

brunos

The standard procedure is that after a positive test you are taken to a hospital. Anyone would have been in close contact will need to stay at one of the government’s three quarantine centre to complete a 14-day quarantine.
My understanding is that the infected FA was detected at the airport (hence she did not get tested before departure). The standard test at the airport is a deep throat saliva PCR test (you spit in a little container). Hence the collection is very fast and does not need a nurse to do it. If the test comes positive (say 8 hours later), then they perform a deep nose PCR test to confirm the finding. Hence the rest of the crew had time to settle at the Marriott before the test was confirmed positive.

sxc

You are given a device that connects to your wristband. It looks like a wifi router. At the end of your quarantine period the government collects it from you.

cauchy

I think it's fair to say that lockdown measures still command widespread popular support, and that opposing them is a fringe activity. But this weekend there are a number of relatively large anti-lockdown protests. Earlier this week the government made only limited changes to the regulations and despite the minor variations, is facing a potential parliamentary rebellion for overreaching. I'm just saying that the debate is shifting, very slightly.