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Originally Posted by hmsdreadnought
(Post 33439015)
Thanks for the helpful response. I think most U.S. tourists are waiting for the day when you can land in the UK without quarantining and/or testing. It looks like we are not close to that yet.
Originally Posted by DaveS
(Post 33439105)
Yes, unfortunately so. The US government stance on us entering the US really does not help.
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Originally Posted by DaveS
(Post 33439105)
Yes, unfortunately so. The US government stance on us entering the US really does not help.
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On the subject of testing, I got another pack in the post earlier, and it's different to previous ones.
This one is nasal swab only (I wish it wasn't, I really don't like that part!), has a green box and is supplied by Sensus Group LTD. Other than nasal only, these ones have a proper holder for the extraction tube, and the tube has the buffer solution already sealed within it. |
Originally Posted by S_W_S
(Post 33439813)
On the subject of testing, I got another pack in the post earlier, and it's different to previous ones.
This one is nasal swab only (I wish it wasn't, I really don't like that part!), has a green box and is supplied by Sensus Group LTD. Other than nasal only, these ones have a proper holder for the extraction tube, and the tube has the buffer solution already sealed within it. I take all this to mean you can swab whichever you like. You might as well try it the way you prefer and see if you get a result. |
Originally Posted by LETTERBOY
(Post 33439279)
...I just canceled a trip to London for the second time. I'm not even going to think about planning it again until I have assurances that this will be the case.
With 8 to 10 calendar days per trip, the specter of a lagging TTR result - and thus a wasted trip - it's just too much. Throughout 2020 as I cancelled or moved trips, I'd just push them out 90 or so days and say to myself "I'm sure it all be sorted by then!" After doing that a dozen times, I've given up. |
Originally Posted by adrianlondon
(Post 33440004)
The ones we could get here in Switzerland said that one should test both nostrils, but if you couldn't do that then do one nostril, one throat swab. I believe the UK ones say the opposite.
I take all this to mean you can swab whichever you like. You might as well try it the way you prefer and see if you get a result. The swab in this kit is much larger, so I'm not sure it's suited to a throat swab in any case. |
Report this morning in the Financial Times: UK to consider relaxing travel restrictions from EU and US
UK to consider relaxing travel restrictions from EU and US Ministers are also looking at removing France from the ‘amber plus’ list The UK government will this week consider loosening travel restrictions for travellers from the EU and the US, with one senior airport executive confident that ministers would broaden quarantine exemptions “imminently”. The move, which one government official said was “finely balanced”, would be a boost to the tourism sector and help to reopen the UK to mass foreign travel. Ministers are separately looking at removing France from the newly created “amber plus” category, which requires travellers from the UK to quarantine upon their return, amid hopes that the Beta variant of the coronavirus in that country is coming under control.
Spoiler
Both decisions will, no doubt, be welcomed by many people here. In my case, removal of France from Amber Plus would increase my flexibility to use BSL as a point of departure rather than FRA, which given the current lacklustre BA service from both would be helpful. |
Originally Posted by squawk
(Post 33440912)
Both decisions will, no doubt, be welcomed by many people here. In my case, removal of France from Amber Plus would increase my flexibility to use BSL as a point of departure rather than FRA, which given the current lacklustre BA service from both would be helpful.
Easyjet have also stopped flying from BSL (to the UK) for the next few weeks. |
Just to clarify the border, I flew in last night to LCY and used the e gates without any questions from anyone.
BA themselves wanted to see a negative test and a completed PLF to get on the plane and nothing else. |
Finally got 2nd Pfizer after 10 weeks at Brentford. Moving my arm has been hurting for 12 hours and I have a bad headache.
This was predictable which is why I waited until after my planned UK trips, but I had to shift these back a few weeks because of the poor weather. This meant my latest trip coincided with what the media dubbed "freedom week". One observation from the weekend was that several cafes / fast food places around train stations closed early because they didn't anticipate the demand and ran out of food to sell, or by late lunchtime they only had the unpopular options left. I don't know what's happening with masks, sometimes I went into a train/supermarket/shopping centre and nearly everyone was wearing one, then the next place almost nobody was. I can't work out any correlation between voluntary mask usage and age, ethnicity or assumed socioeconomic status. I did go to a supermarket in a very affluent area and it was 99% masked there, but I also went to some deprived areas and even in the same town it could vary from 25-75%. Maybe there is a herd effect - there is on me to some extent as if the majority of people are wearing I will put one on, so perhaps passing a critical mass causes more and more people to choose to. But if I am just taking a shortcut through a shop or somewhere for 1 minute I can't be bothered (but tbh this was never going to be enforced even when legally required anyway). |
Originally Posted by :D!
(Post 33441040)
I don't know what's happening with masks, sometimes I went into a train/supermarket/shopping centre and nearly everyone was wearing one, then the next place almost nobody was. I can't work out any correlation between voluntary mask usage and age, ethnicity or assumed socioeconomic status. I did go to a supermarket in a very affluent area and it was 99% masked there, but I also went to some deprived areas and even in the same town it could vary from 25-75%.
I don't detect any obvious correlation with socio-economic status or ethnicity, but have noticed that the more "upmarket" or cultural the location the higher the percentage of people wearing face coverings. At the National Gallery and British Museum it's close to 100%, in John Lewis about 90%, on the underground about 85-90%. On the other hand, in my local Tesco store in south London and on the local buses it's probably under 50%, and in Superdrug in Clapham I think I might have been the only one. :) It's encouraging that so many people are continuing to observe such measures, though, because it gives us hope that the number of cases will not rise dramatically as a result of so-called Freedom Day. We should know in a week or two. |
Daily data:
Cases 23,511 (46,558 last Tuesday) Deaths 131 (96) Patients admitted 945 (769 on the 15th) Patients in hospital 5,918 (4,567 on the 19th) Patients in ventilation beds 820 (611 on the 19th) People vaccinated up to and including 26 July 2021: First dose: 46,653,796 Second dose: 37,459,060 The rolling seven day daily average for cases is now down 30.8% on the previous week and the same measure for deaths is up 40.4%. The rolling 7 day daily average for deaths is 68.6 today. I was expecting the daily cases to be a bit higher than yesterdays number because of the weekend catch-up. The small drop of 1,439 is actually the biggest of the last week or so when looking at the seven day rolling average. Today being catch-up day from the weekend gives us the worst figure for deaths since mid March. Hopefully the fall in cases will feed through into that before too long. |
So it's now a week of reduced confirmed cases with today's figure at 23,511 - normally Tuesday's figures are higher than Monday due to the weekend.
The 7 day cases per 100k is 344 - a week ago it was 497 The 14 day cases per 100k is 841 - a week ago 850 - for obvious reasons this will move more slowly than the 7 day figure. The rolling 7 day average is 32,833, compared to 47,435. a week ago. This is a per daily figure,, so the case numbers really has gone down a lot, given than people have COVID for 1 to 2 weeks. 7 days over 14 days is 40.90%, which would nealy halve cases in 10 days if it continues. It is unlikely to be that fast since the peak was so sharp. It's very rare for this figure to go below 40%. Malta and the Netherlands are seeing similar big drops in recent days. Scotland has seen a small reduction in ICU patients, all the other health care data is showing bigger reductions. |
Hopefully posting my personal update in the right forum. I am a covid vaccine volunteer ( Novavax). I was vaccinated in Nov/Dec 2020. I am one of many who felt disadvantaged and left aside unable to demonstrate my status and in particular be denied an “approved” vaccine. I wrote to my MP over many months and got a stock answer from the Vaccine Minister. Yesterday I checked my NHS app to see to my surprise my travel vaccine status had changed to fully vaccinated. Specifically it states the “ vaccine product” as Covovax. Manufacturer Novavax CZ AS. It includes my batch numbers and NHS references QR codes etc…
I am pleased with this development albeit something I should not have had to fight for. clearly until bodies like EMA etc.. add this to their approved lists issues prevail. hopefully this helps some T |
I think it’s reasonable that vaccines known to be effective, but not yet approved here, be recognised. Certainly those developed in the US and Europe. Possibly also Sputnik*.
* Likely a knock off of AZ involving a nod, a wink and a hack. |
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