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India announced a new variant today, which of course the Beeb has splattered on the front page.

Taking bets on how fast the Rt Hon will be in ANNOUNCING (in all caps, of course) that India is to be added to the hotel quarantine list. I say it'll happen before Easter.

Just to show the lunacy that this has gotten to, during PMQs today, BJ said that they are "considering quarantine for hauliers". If that happens, we are done for. How are we going to even get food in here? We all saw what happened over Xmas. This just goes from ridiculous to more ridiculous. To consider closing off trade with the EU is beyond asinine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HB7 (Post 33123478)

I file that one under the its just easier to tell obnoxious opposition parties that we are considering literally everything under the sun. I think earlier statements made over the past couple months clearly show that the flow of goods is a key priority and a key reason for not closing borders.

Daily data

Cases 5,605 (5,758 last Wednesday)
Deaths 98 (141)
Patients admitted 360 (460 on the 13th)
Patients on ventilation 711 (968 on 16th)
Tests conducted yesterday 839,954

The most important data is still improving thankfully. The 7 day average for deaths is now 79.

Quote:

Originally Posted by KSVVZ2015 (Post 33123486)

I came down the M20 yesterday. The France bound trucks were queueing from Ashford back to halfway to Maidstone. They really cannot afford to throw any spanners in the works. Even the slightest thing can cause chaos in Kent.

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulaf (Post 33121200)

Some good news Spain will lift travel ban on UK visitors from 30th March.

Not entirely, see below

Quote:

Originally Posted by cauchy (Post 33121316)

There's never been a better time to look into buying a holiday home in Spain.

No, not allowed, see below

Quote:

Originally Posted by HB7 (Post 33121478)

Unfortunately, this has no material effect for any Briton.

Quite possibly true

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulaf (Post 33121483)

Not yet but it's one less hurdle gone.

To be replaced by a different kind of hurdle, see below

Quote:

Originally Posted by KSVVZ2015 (Post 33121487)

It does for me. I have a client I have needed to visit on site in Spain. Now I can go.

Possibly not, see below

Spain is hardly 'opening up' very much for travel from the UK after 30th March. Rather than an outright ban on all travel, you will need a permitted reason to be allowed into Spain (as well as a permitted reason to leave the UK in the first place)

Quote:

Permitted reasons to enter Spain after 30 March 2021

From 6pm (GMT+1) on 30 March 2021 (5pm / GMT in the Canary Islands), passenger travel between the UK and Spain will resume, however entry restrictions and testing requirements will remain in force. Only Spanish citizens, those who are legally resident in Spain or those who can demonstrate through documentary evidence an essential need to enter Spain, will be allowed to enter the country. Permitted circumstances include:

Holders of a long-stay visa issued by a Member State or Schengen Associated State, who are travelling onto said country.
Health professionals, including health researchers, and elderly care professionals who are going to or returning from essential work.
Transport personnel, seafarers and aeronautical personnel.
Diplomatic, consular, international organizations, military, civil protection and members of humanitarian organizations.
Students who carry out their studies in the Member States or Schengen Associated States and who have the corresponding permit or visa and medical insurance, provided that they are travelling to the country where they are studying, and that entry occurs during the academic year or 15 days previous.
Highly skilled essential workers whose work cannot be postponed or carried out remotely, including participants in high-level sports events due to take place in Spain.
People traveling for imperative family reasons who can demonstrate an essential need to travel.

All of the circumstances above must be justified by documentary evidence. You should be aware that you may be questioned on arrival by Spanish border authorities to ensure you meet the entry requirements. Spanish border authorities will only grant entry if they are satisfied that your journey to Spain is essential and reserve the right to deny passage.

Note: No Property Manager / Stanley Johnson exception for Spain!

Source: FCDO https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-ad...mitted-reasons

Canarian Weekly however promoting the Stanley Johnson loophole:

https://www.canarianweekly.com/posts...5XxCn6irWRmHMc

None of the media reports on Spanish websites mention the restrictions, very misleading, they say UK tourists welcome to check on 2nd homes.

https://www.thelocal.es/20210323/breaking-spain-to-lift-travel-ban-for-uk-arrivals-on-march-30th/

Quote:

India has temporarily suspended exports of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII) to meet domestic demand as cases rise, two sources have told Reuters.

So our batch from there will be even further delayed, we can assume?

Quote:

Originally Posted by southlondonphil (Post 33123735)

Not entirely, see below

Thanks for the update! You're right...it's just an easing of the blanket ban on all Brits. There's definitely some sloppy reporting going on. Check out this headline:

Spain to lift ban on British tourists from 30 March

<shakes head>
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel...-b1821204.html

I was reading Laura K's review of the latest appearance of Boris in Parliament and this bit caught my attention:

Quote:

On Wednesday, the prime minister suggested that if he and the EU can't make peace over vaccines, he might be willing to hit back, if they take dramatic action.

He suggested that before too long, the UK's nearest continental neighbour, France, might end up on the list of countries that attract the toughest travel restrictions, the 'red list', even though that would cause, as he detailed, significant disruption.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56518407

Which prompted 2 thoughts:

If this is true, it's proof that the R-A-G system is political and not "data driven". I've been suspecting it ever since the UAE have been added to the list, but including France (and, again, the absence of whatever criteria being published) would be the definitive proof.
There's a fairly un-PC and inpolite saying, in Italian, to define this sort of action. In its least vulgar form it says that doing something like Boris is threatening to do is a bit like the husband chopping is genitalia off in order to teach his wife a lesson.

Bottom line = "Fog in the Channel, continent isolated" mentality.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan1113 (Post 33123864)

So our batch from there will be even further delayed, we can assume?

India was intent upon holding onto its AZ vaccine production for in-country administration even 30 days ago, and the Indian government had already made its point on that front with AZ's primary Indian partner for this.

Indian companies/institutions are generally very afraid of going against the grain of what the Indian government wants (on just about anything and everything nowadays), and so AZ's partner in India should have already informed the UK that India's production of the AZ vaccine was going to be under de facto export controls from the Indian government. So it shouldn't be news to the UK, and the UK PM has had plenty of time to make an issue of India's position on this matter if he had wanted to do so.

From the Daily Telegraph today: Travel latest news: Scrap quarantine – testing is just as effective, says new study https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/n...ine-passports/

I think it is behind the paywall, but the main crux of the article:
A study by Edge Health and Oxera revealed that rapid antigen tests can reduce the number of “infectious days” of international travellers by 63 per cent— the same rate as those forced to isolate for 10 days under current rules. Their findings have been submitted to the Global Travel Taskforce.

If the Government were to introduce a ‘traffic light’ system for arrivals, the report suggests “a single test strategy could be appropriate for countries categorised as medium-risk”, with quarantine requirements scrapped. And those entering the UK from countries with higher rates of coronavirus would only need to quarantine for three days if a two-test strategy – PCR and antigen – was introduced.

Quote:

Originally Posted by paulaf (Post 33121566)

Update from Paul Charles sounds like we might know more on 5th April.

https://mobile.twitter.com/PPaulChar...7Ctwgr%5Etweet

Well, as I know how much we love to speculate here on FT, if indeed it is true that more countries are going on the Red List, which countries do we think are targets for this?

Personally I very much hope that Turkey isn't, however given that TK now must be the most connected airline operating into the UK, Turkey is surely at risk.

Quote:

Originally Posted by gov.uk

assessment of surveillance and sequencing capability
available surveillance and genome sequencing data
evidence of in-country community transmission of COVID-19 variants
evidence of exportation of new variants to the UK or other countries
travel connectivity with the UK

Quote:

Originally Posted by wilsnunn (Post 33125038)

It all depends on the influencers. If they start going to Istanbul, Turkey's gone for us.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wilsnunn (Post 33125038)

It's an odd one. I think that HMG are going to want to see more of an improvement in the vaccination rollout (I know we are hiding our doses in the Ardennes etc etc) to avoid more countries going on it: From EU's 'most embarrassing' day: How the story behind the vaccine factory raid unravelled I noticed this to give an idea of the current trajectory:

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...29e6d735f1.png
I guess they want to see that trend improve and that will likely be part of the equation.