Yes it appears the money grab still exists

I must admit to not being on top of the current rules as I've not needed to use them. As far as I can tell from that GOV.UK web page, I can get a local test pre-departure test here in Germany as long as it complies with the requirements on that page and provides the relevant information in the right languages. But for the test 2 days afterwards, what's the best value for money? And do I need to book a package with the day 8 test as well, even if it isn't needed?

(In fact, is there a Wiki post somewhere on FlyerTalk with the latest information updated on it? And if not, could we make one?)

He Tweeted! I feel a lot better now, traditions are traditions after all.



Randox I think is the most affordable. It's £43 a pop for a Day 2 so not exactly a steal... Hopefully this will go too sooner or later.

There is a lot of information in this thread:

https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/coro...tests-654.html

No day 8 will be needed assuming you are validly vaccinated.

Yes, it would be nice to see that go down in cost at the very least - or be scrapped as a requirement (which is what it is to enter Germany).

Ah, thanks - I've kept an eye on that, but hadn't checked it today and I didn't realise there was a Wiki attached.

Daily data:

Cases 27,734 (44,104 last Wednesday)
Deaths 91 (73)
Patients admitted 825 (703 on the 17th)
Patients in hospital 6,021 (4,658 on the 20th)
Patients in ventilation beds 848 (618 on the 20th)
People vaccinated up to and including 27 July 2021:
First dose: 46,689,242
Second dose: 37,610,911

The rolling seven day daily average for cases is now down 36.1% on the previous week and the same measure for deaths is up 36.1%. The rolling 7 day daily average for deaths is 71.1 today. Though the number of cases has increased on yesterday, when the 7 day averaging is applied it is still a good drop on the previous week. The number of patients admitted has also fallen for the last couple of days.

Interesting, thanks CWS!
I was sure I had Covid in March 2020, but not as recent as this year. I did the test just under 8 weeks post second jab.

The Day 2 used for genomic sequencing to track down variants. Even with double vaxxed people there is a risk of importing a variant (albeit very small) so I can’t see it going anytime soon.

Well March 2020 would also be possible, it's just that when we did immunity surveillance in June 2020 very few people had immunity at that point. So I think this actually strengthens your suspicions. Either way you are in a good place now.

That was 77 days / 11 weeks between vaccinations, an excellent seeparation which should give you really good protection. I hope you will be looking slightly further afield for your future travels, in two weeks time.

Do you know if anyone is looking or has looked in any serious way at how prevalent COVID was in the U.K. before it was known to be here? I know that there is established evidence that it was here to some limited degree, but I also know that I am not alone in being convinced that I had it some weeks before it was supposed to have been possible (hitting second half of January, with the worst cough I’ve ever experienced persisting well into lockdown). Of course, it was also the season for respiratory illnesses, so there’s more than a negligible chance it was a.n.other more ‘normal’ virus, but the fact it was the season may also have masked its appearance.

Also well aware that this kind of work probably hasn’t been an immediate priority for obvious reasons…

Thanks. I did get the emails and texts a few weeks ago inviting me to book earlier, and I could have moved it to earlier in July. But I decided to leave it where it was and keep to the 11 weeks.

Yes I am off to Shetland in late August ;)

Slightly more further afield, Athens, Madeira, and Tenerife planned for September.

You are right that it isn't a priority, but there are several university studies going on about this - I certainly have some cases of people swearing they had COVID before the UK's first cases. There are things you can do to reverse engineer the sequencing process which may give some clues about what happened and when. But the way this research is working suggests it may be another year before know some more of the chronology.

Interesting to hear, thanks.

There was this article on the BBC News website last June, which you might find interesting - lots of anecdotal evidence suggesting it could perhaps have been in the UK earlier, but could also have been another virus.