Quarantine

[Richard Scott]

Or the number of COVID-19 patients in hospital or those on mechanical ventilator beds, both of which are at record lows since the peak of the pandemic.

If look at deaths in a lot of countries even ones on the Government quarantine list (within Europe) they are generally very low, often in single figures in some cases. Government is completely obsessed with number of infections and seems these are no longer leading to the number of hospitalisations we've seen in the past.

 

[Westcountryman]

Turn it off if you go out!

Not much point in having a mobile phone if you don't take it out.

 

[Richard Scott]

Not much point in having a mobile phone if you don't take it out.

You're not supposed to be going out if in quarantine, not suggesting you do that any other time!

 

[Jamiescott1]

Come September 1st it will probably all go quiet on the quarantine front and then the government start dropping hints about countries being removed from the list just before October half term

 

[johnnychips]

I wonder if France could be next? Like several countries, cases are rising but mostly among young people.

There is a link to a BBC article expanding on this.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-53745481

Coronavirus cases in France have nearly doubled in the past 24 hours as Prime Minister Jean Castex warned that the country had been going "the wrong way" for two weeks.

The health ministry reported 1,397 new infections of Covid-19 since Monday. Fourteen people have died.

A ban on meetings of more than 5,000 people has been extended to 30 October.

"The epidemiological situation, which we are following very closely, is deteriorating: 2,000 new cases per day compared to 1,000 three weeks ago," Mr Castex said at a press conference in Montpellier.

 

[Richard Scott]

I wonder if France could be next? Like several countries, cases are rising but mostly among young people.

There is a link to a BBC article expanding on this.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-53745481

No doubt our Government will deem that too high despite it still being a relatively miniscule number.

 

[HSTEd]

Well quarantine has its limits.

As New Zealand is now finding out (they have community transmission again)

 

[Jamiescott1]

So france, Netherlands and Malta removed from the safe list.
I assume france will shortly announce arrivals from UK will have to quarantine on arrival there too in a tit for tat move

 

[Bletchleyite]

So france, Netherlands and Malta removed from the safe list.
I assume france will shortly announce arrivals from UK will have to quarantine on arrival there too in a tit for tat move

France plus NL has the interesting effect that that means you won't be able to take a holiday by road or rail from the UK any more without quarantining, as you'll have to pass through France, Belgium, Spain or the Netherlands to use a ferry or E*.

The boats are going to be busy tomorrow!

 

[Yew]

So france, Netherlands and Malta removed from the safe list.
I assume france will shortly announce arrivals from UK will have to quarantine on arrival there too in a tit for tat move

I'm fairly sure this is just flexing the muscles to show everyone who's boss. The number of imported cases will almost certainly be minimal given the inherent problems with widespread community testing and false positives that are coming to light (that we're discussing on other threads)

 

[johnnychips]

Just a note to say my quarantine ends in 1h 45m. I’ve had to go out about five times to go to the shops, usually at about 2100 when it’s quiet and I had to drive to Doncaster today to pick a prescription up. No checks, but they only contact 1 in 5 apparently.

 

[Jamiescott1]

France plus NL has the interesting effect that that means you won't be able to take a holiday by road or rail from the UK any more without quarantining, as you'll have to pass through France, Belgium, Spain or the Netherlands to use a ferry or E*.

The boats are going to be busy tomorrow!

I'm sure that if you're in transit and you dont (or say you didnt) get out of the car whilst passing through that country then you dont needto quarantine

 

[Mag_seven]

I assume france will shortly announce arrivals from UK will have to quarantine on arrival there too in a tit for tat move

Is there a genuine concern that this will happen or is it just speculation on your behalf?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Just a note to say my quarantine ends in 1h 45m. I’ve had to go out about five times to go to the shops, usually at about 2100 when it’s quiet and I had to drive to Doncaster today to pick a prescription up. No checks, but they only contact 1 in 5 apparently.

Oh dear, so it's full of holes, then.

Quarantine should mean quarantine - you are treated as infected. Better if it was in a guarded hotel, with food and medication arranged for you.

 

[Huntergreed]

Oh dear, so it's full of holes, then.

Quarantine should mean quarantine - you are treated as infected. Better if it was in a guarded hotel, with food and medication arranged for you.

Are there any 'holes' in the enforcement of positive test isolation and/or test and trace asking you to isolate or are they just as 'reliable' as the quarantine enforcement?

 

[Bletchleyite]

Are there any 'holes' in the enforcement of positive test isolation and/or test and trace asking you to isolate or are they just as 'reliable' as the quarantine enforcement?

You are told not to go out for any reason if you test positive, not even to a shop; you must use deliveries, assistance from others dropping off to your door (but zero contact) or the NHS Volunteer Responders or similar if you're really stuck. Is that not the case for quarantining?

 

[Huntergreed]

You are told not to go out for any reason if you test positive, not even to a shop; you must use deliveries, assistance from others dropping off to your door (but zero contact) or the NHS Volunteer Responders or similar if you're really stuck. Is that not the case for quarantining?

Is this actually enforced though? I would hope that anyone who decided to break this was pursued to the full extent of the law, but is there any way of actually enforcing this or is it 'trust' based, if so that's a big problem.

 

[ld0595]

Is there a genuine concern that this will happen or is it just speculation on your behalf?

It was also suggested on BBC news.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Is this actually enforced though? I would hope that anyone who decided to break this was pursued to the full extent of the law, but is there any way of actually enforcing this or is it 'trust' based, if so that's a big problem.

Yes, it is a big problem that it isn't enforced, and we really do need a handle on that. I wonder if we could return to hotel based quarantine as we get numbers down?

 

[johnnychips]

Oh dear, so it's full of holes, then.

Quarantine should mean quarantine - you are treated as infected. Better if it was in a guarded hotel, with food and medication arranged for you.

Well, that is what I did. The rate in Barcelona was about four times as high as it was here, but still small (1 in 10 000 as opposed to 1in 40 000 here). I went out at quiet times and wore my mask in shops. I used my common sense, as advocated by a certain government advisor and the PM.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Well, that is what I did. The rate in Barcelona was about four times as high as it was here, but still small (1 in 10 000 as opposed to 1in 40 000 here). I went out at quiet times and wore my mask in shops. I used my common sense, as advocated by a certain government advisor and the PM.

They've done a typical obfuscation job there, but I suspect you may be admitting having broken the law (or at least the advice), unless you really had no option to have your food or medication brought to you at all.

Travel to England from another country – COVID-19 rules

Check if there are any COVID-19 rules in place for travel to England from abroad.

www.gov.uk

 

[LAX54]

Is there a genuine concern that this will happen or is it just speculation on your behalf?

Indeed, France announced and a few other Countries too, all really just a waste of time and money !

 

[LAX54]

Yes, it is a big problem that it isn't enforced, and we really do need a handle on that. I wonder if we could return to hotel based quarantine as we get numbers down?

We will never get the numbers down if we keep running away like a scared cat !

 

[Bantamzen]

Oh dear, so it's full of holes, then.

Quarantine should mean quarantine - you are treated as infected. Better if it was in a guarded hotel, with food and medication arranged for you.

Why hotels? Surely you'd prefer them to be thrown in internment camps on an unoccupied island guarded by the Army & Navy, with a shoot on sight policy? And whilst they are imprisoned their homes have big red crosses painted on them so that when they are finally released their neighbours know to stay away from the "unclean" who dared to go to those nasty "Not-Britain" countries.....

Indeed, France announced and a few other Countries too, all really just a waste of time and money !

Worse than that, according to the Beeb there are about half a million people in France right now, most of whom won't be back in Blightly by tomorrow morning. Many of them when they get home might not be working when they get back, which is going to cause more damage than a 1 in 10,000 chance of them bringing the virus back. Still it keeps the lockdown activists & curtain twitchers happy....

 

[adc82140]

That's wrecked my plans for September. Was supposed to be popping over to France for a few days. We're selling a holiday home over there, and I intended to fill my car up with accumulated stuff from over there and bring it home. I can put things on hold till the end of the year, but any longer than that I'll have to go anyway and deal with quarantine. Hopefully France will have things under control way before that.

 

[duncanp]

Worse than that, according to the Beeb there are about half a million people in France right now, most of whom won't be back in Blightly by tomorrow morning. Many of them when they get home might not be working when they get back, which is going to cause more damage than a 1 in 10,000 chance of them bringing the virus back. Still it keeps the lockdown activists & curtain twitchers happy....

The UK Border Farce simply don't have the resources to check up on 500,000 people over the next few weeks.

I suspect many people who do come back from France will say "Va te faire f***re" to the quarantine rules and carry on with their lives as normally as possible, whilst being sensible.

I have had to cancel my holiday to France next month, but if I had been affected by the quarantine rules, I would have booked myself a COVID-19 test on my return, which is what the government should be doing for everyone returning from countries on the quarantine list.

The rules are stupid anyway and have more holes than a string vest or a Swiss cheese. If I had gone ahead with my holiday as planned, the quarantine rules would have allowed me to travel from my arrival point in the UK (St Pancras Station) to my home (Birmingham) by public transport, as the big bad killer virus apparently doesn't affect Avanti West Coast Trains, Birmingham Trams and National Express West Midlands Buses.

Then I would have had to go out to buy some food, which is OK because the virus stays outside the supermarket door.

 

[Bantamzen]

The UK Border Farce simply don't have the resources to check up on 500,000 people over the next few weeks.

I suspect future checks will be devolved more & more to local authorities, partly as a result of the extra powers given to them but mainly because they really don't have the resources & so can be made scapegoats by the government.

​

I suspect many people who do come back from France will say "Va te faire f***re" to the quarantine rules and carry on with their lives as normally as possible, whilst being sensible.

Its already happening, and frankly I don't blame them. When we are told that wearing masks is to protect others, but if you suddenly come back from a country with a few more cases they apparently stop functioning, then the entire policy stops being scientific (which frankly it never was) and entirely political. I can't shake the feel the 'B' word is at least partial motivation for all this.

​

I have had to cancel my holiday to France next month, but if I had been affected by the quarantine rules, I would have booked myself a COVID-19 test on my return, which is what the government should be doing for everyone returning from countries on the quarantine list.

We have plans to head to Spain in the next couple of months. These may change, but frankly we may just go anyway and tell the government go stick it where the sun doesn't shine (Westminster).

​

The rules are stupid anyway and have more holes than a string vest or a Swiss cheese. If I had gone ahead with my holiday as planned, the quarantine rules would have allowed me to travel from my arrival point in the UK (St Pancras Station) to my home (Birmingham) by public transport, as the big bad killer virus apparently doesn't affect Avanti West Coast Trains, Birmingham Trams and National Express West Midlands Buses.

Then I would have had to go out to buy some food, which is OK because the virus stays outside the supermarket door.

The rules are a farce, and are there purely for the benefit of the lockivists and curtain twitchers.

 

[talldave]

That's wrecked my plans for September. Was supposed to be popping over to France for a few days. We're selling a holiday home over there, and I intended to fill my car up with accumulated stuff from over there and bring it home. I can put things on hold till the end of the year, but any longer than that I'll have to go anyway and deal with quarantine. Hopefully France will have things under control way before that.

If you just nip through the Channel Tunnel for a quick check of your eyesight you should be OK .

 

[duncanp]

The other thing that annoys me is the attitude of the Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps.

He is quoted on the news this morning saying that "you knew the risks" when you travelled abroad.

He is effectively saying "serves you right for going abroad" and this is complete slap in the face for people who were actually following Foreign Office advice that it was "safe" to travel to France, and the other countries that have been removed from the list.

Surely the sensible and proportionate response for people coming from the affected countries would be to advise them to stay at home as much as possible, and to get a test straight away if they have symptoms, or if they have commitments such as work which make it difficult for them to stay at home.

The government have said that there will be no financial assistance for people who are unable to work due to the quarantine rules.

This increases the risk of people not observing the rules, which in turn defeats the purpose of having the rules in the first place.

"C'est un grand tas de conneries" (It's a right load of B*&@*!!) as the French would say.

 

[yorkie]

This increases the risk of people not observing the rules, which in turn defeats the purpose of having the rules in the first place.

The answers to that are
1) There isn't really any additional risk (no more so than visiting certain places in the UK)
2) The purpose is actually to pander to those who want tough measures to be taken, rather than for any medical reason