Returning to the UK soon? Good luck organizing the mandatory quarantine Covid tests

[trevoromgh]

18 minutes ago, Tuvoc said:

 

Yes that was my observation also. The regulations allow you to leave self-isolation to post the sample back.

 

I did see one provider where they do the test on their own premises, so no postage involved. You are permitted to leave self-isolation to get that done.

 

 

 

Thanks for confirming that.  Out of interest do you have a link to where it states you can leave self-isolation in this instance? 

[trevoromgh]

1 minute ago, AnnieSeek said:

 

I've done these three times, and all the times there was a courier to collect. Two of the three times i had knocks on the door by 'them' to check i was isolating, and phone calls every single day. 

 

They have definately beefed it up. 

 

 

 

 

Again.  Who was your test supplier please?

 

[Tuvoc]

Where your testing provider conducts the day 2 and day 8 tests at a testing facility you may leave the house for your test. Where your tests are delivered and self-administered, if there is no one in your household or bubble who can post the test for processing, you may leave the premises to post your test. If you have to leave the premises, you should follow the guidance on the How to travel to the place where you’re quarantining section of this page.

 

How to quarantine when you arrive in England - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

[AnnieSeek]

39 minutes ago, trevoromgh said:

 

Again.  Who was your test supplier please?

 

 

The last time i used 3SIX - they are listed on the locator form link. Like i say they sent a courier last month? Maybe now you can just post it? I know the NHS one you can put in the priority boxes. 

 

You need the reference number and a print out of the confirmation - they check this at the airport. I travelled back on KLM, and whilst at Amsterdam they were insisting everyone show a confirmation of their tests booked. 

[polpott]

2 hours ago, AnnieSeek said:

 

I've done these three times, and all the times there was a courier to collect. Two of the three times i had knocks on the door by 'them' to check i was isolating, and phone calls every single day. 

 

They have definately beefed it up. 

 

 

 

I completed my 10 day self isolation 2 weeks ago. Posted my "day 2 and day 8" tests in a local post box. Have received zero feedback from either test. No "knocks on the door" and no phone calls. Government minister Pritti Patel publicly admitted that the system wasn't working. Quarantine, what quarantine? An absolute joke.

[AnnieSeek]

17 hours ago, polpott said:

I completed my 10 day self isolation 2 weeks ago. Posted my "day 2 and day 8" tests in a local post box. Have received zero feedback from either test. No "knocks on the door" and no phone calls. Government minister Pritti Patel publicly admitted that the system wasn't working. Quarantine, what quarantine? An absolute joke.

 

I refuse to believe you didn't get - at bare minimum - any phone calls. Was this recent? Everyone from my work, and colleagues i know online have all recieved daily calls to check you isolating. Perhaps they also have a link to your sim to check your number is at the place you claim - because there was one day my partner took my phone, and that was the day they called round my home. 

Edited May 17, 2021 by AnnieSeek

[Tuvoc]

I think they are tightening up.

 

I see Thailand's Covid situation has made the BBC news website - with the prison numbers broken out separately. Really hoping the UK government is not thinking Redlist  !!  I'm regretting that I booked everything for a 19th June departure now, it would have been better to have gone sooner. As long as they treat the prison numbers separately, the "core" numbers are still low, not too different from UK numbers, and basically flat. Fingers crossed.

[polpott]

6 hours ago, AnnieSeek said:

 

I refuse to believe you didn't get - at bare minimum - any phone calls. Was this recent? Everyone from my work, and colleagues i know online have all recieved daily calls to check you isolating. Perhaps they also have a link to your sim to check your number is at the place you claim - because there was one day my partner took my phone, and that was the day they called round my home. 

So you are calling me a liar? Perhaps you are calling Pritti Patel a liar too? Why do you think the government are wanting to abandon self isolating in favour of quarantine hotels?

 

During my 10 day quarantine I went out shopping, had my first dose of vaccine, saw my GP, had a haircut, ate out several times and generally carried on life as normal. Had zero contact from anyone in authority. Started my quarantine on April 23rd.

[trevoromgh]

40 minutes ago, polpott said:

 

 

40 minutes ago, polpott said:

During my 10 day quarantine I went out shopping, had my first dose of vaccine, saw my GP, had a haircut, ate out several times and generally carried on life as normal. Had zero contact from anyone in authority. Started my quarantine on April 23rd.

 

Not surprising you had no contact from anyone in authority as, by your own admission, you were out most of the time.  Maybe they'll surprise you one day.

 

Edited May 18, 2021 by trevoromgh

[Tuvoc]

10 hours ago, polpott said:

During my 10 day quarantine I went out shopping, had my first dose of vaccine, saw my GP, had a haircut, ate out several times and generally carried on life as normal. Had zero contact from anyone in authority. Started my quarantine on April 23rd.

 

And that wasn't totally irresponsible behaviour ?

 

[AnnieSeek]

19 hours ago, polpott said:

So you are calling me a liar? Perhaps you are calling Pritti Patel a liar too? Why do you think the government are wanting to abandon self isolating in favour of quarantine hotels?

 

During my 10 day quarantine I went out shopping, had my first dose of vaccine, saw my GP, had a haircut, ate out several times and generally carried on life as normal. Had zero contact from anyone in authority. Started my quarantine on April 23rd.

 

No wonder the UK has had one of the worst outbreaks on the planet .... when you have a British poster openly boasting he broke quarantine. Good grief.

Edited May 19, 2021 by AnnieSeek

[polpott]

On 5/18/2021 at 4:12 PM, Tuvoc said:

 

And that wasn't totally irresponsible behaviour ?

 

 

14 hours ago, AnnieSeek said:

 

No wonder the UK has had one of the worst outbreaks on the planet .... when you have a British poster openly boasting he broke quarantine. Good grief.

Why do you think that the UK is suffering from the Indian variant?

 

Many thousands of South Asians entering the UK on British passports and completely ignoring quarantine. Am I less entitled than them?

 

The fault mainly lies with the government who are completely failing to monitor self quarantine. I posted off my day 2 and day 8 tests and still haven't had the results.

 

The only communication I have had from my test provider is this email:

 

"The DHSC have confirmed with all Day 2/8 providers that if your test is late but 14-days have passed since your arrival in the UK and you have not experienced any Covid-19 symptoms, there is no need to continue quarantining. They realise the enormous pressure the entire sector is under and wanted to provide further clarification for those in quarantine."   If the government doesn't give a toss, why should anyone else?

 

[AnnieSeek]

2 hours ago, polpott said:

 

If the government doesn't give a toss, why should anyone else?

 

 

They have put rules in place, including legislation to make it a criminal offense what you did. You chose to ignore it, and got lucky they didn't check on you. 

 

This could apply to any sort of crime, if you get away with it you've got lucky ... DOES NOT MEAN IT'S RITE. WHAT YOU HAVE DONE IS PUT OTHERS AT RISK. Irresponsible beyond belief. The fact you are boasting about it is utterly depressing idictment of selfishness that plights the UK. 

[polpott]

22 minutes ago, AnnieSeek said:

 

They have put rules in place, including legislation to make it a criminal offense what you did. You chose to ignore it, and got lucky they didn't check on you. 

 

This could apply to any sort of crime, if you get away with it you've got lucky ... DOES NOT MEAN IT'S RITE. WHAT YOU HAVE DONE IS PUT OTHERS AT RISK. Irresponsible beyond belief. The fact you are boasting about it is utterly depressing idictment of selfishness that plights the UK. 

I didn't boast, I stated the situation as it is, unlike you who created a complete fantasy of your quarantine experiences.

[DerbyDan]

i'm sorry you posted this and i had to read it. bye.

[Brierley]

8 hours ago, polpott said:

 

Why do you think that the UK is suffering from the Indian variant?

 

Many thousands of South Asians entering the UK on British passports and completely ignoring quarantine. Am I less entitled than them?

 

The fault mainly lies with the government who are completely failing to monitor self quarantine. I posted off my day 2 and day 8 tests and still haven't had the results.

 

The only communication I have had from my test provider is this email:

 

"The DHSC have confirmed with all Day 2/8 providers that if your test is late but 14-days have passed since your arrival in the UK and you have not experienced any Covid-19 symptoms, there is no need to continue quarantining. They realise the enormous pressure the entire sector is under and wanted to provide further clarification for those in quarantine."   If the government doesn't give a toss, why should anyone else?

 

"The fault mainly lies with the government who are completely failing to monitor self quarantine".

 

You're saying the spread of the virus is governments fault for not ensuring you don't break the law, what's the problem, can you not be relied on to do that yourself, are you not trustworthy?

[polpott]

8 hours ago, Brierley said:

"The fault mainly lies with the government who are completely failing to monitor self quarantine".

 

You're saying the spread of the virus is governments fault for not ensuring you don't break the law, what's the problem, can you not be relied on to do that yourself, are you not trustworthy?

Thousands of returnees from South Asia aren't.

[Brierley]

10 minutes ago, polpott said:

Thousands of returnees from South Asia aren't.

That's no reason why the rest of us have to do the same, two wrongs don't make a right.

[polpott]

3 minutes ago, Brierley said:

That's no reason why the rest of us have to do the same, two wrongs don't make a right.

Up to you.

[griffer]

flight to UK on may 8 by thai girlfriend

she went to bumungrad and got covid test  and results in one day...within 3 days of departure...you need test results in english...5500 baht

filled in locater form within 48 hours of departure

I purchased randox 2+8 day test kit  £175..she had printed invoice and registration papers with her

this was checked at check-in at thai airways..flight cost 36000 baht..she had bought this on her own credit card which she had with her...only one flight/week 60% full

huge queues at heathrow terminal 2 arrived 4.30..out at 7.45

all papers checked at LHR.....several people pulled aside for incomplete paperwork

we used my phone as first point of contact and her thai number as second

we were called every day but one over quarantine period..when my phone wasn't answered they called thai number.(which was bit of a shock)

did her tests on day 2 and 8 and received results promptly.

she is here for 3 months and then we have to book quarantine hotel back in LOS.

hope that helps someone.

[trevoromgh]

Thanks Griffer for the report on your girlfriend's experience of returning to the UK a fortnight ago.  I presume the queues you mentioned at LHR then were arrivals from all three zones?  They are now supposed to be separating them up by zone so you don't get mixed in with people coming from RED zones anymore but whether this will make the queues shorter or not remains to be seen.  One concern I have is that as a result of this action they will change my arrival terminal and my taxi will go to the wrong one, but will just have to check with the airline closer to the departure date. 

Hope other people report their experiences back here so we can understand whether things are improving or not.

[griffer]

5 hours ago, trevoromgh said:

Thanks Griffer for the report on your girlfriend's experience of returning to the UK a fortnight ago.  I presume the queues you mentioned at LHR then were arrivals from all three zones?  They are now supposed to be separating them up by zone so you don't get mixed in with people coming from RED zones anymore but whether this will make the queues shorter or not remains to be seen.  One concern I have is that as a result of this action they will change my arrival terminal and my taxi will go to the wrong one, but will just have to check with the airline closer to the departure date. 

Hope other people report their experiences back here so we can understand whether things are improving or not.

I read that LHR terminal 3 for Red zone countries.....that should ease the burden at terminal 2....it was definitely a bit fraught in there...luckily my girlfiend speaks fairly good english so could answers questions about "did she understand the rules for quarantine?" ""can you confirm the address for quarantine?" etc etc.....the bordr officers are certainly under some pressure...

 

[trevoromgh]

2 hours ago, griffer said:

I read that LHR terminal 3 for Red zone countries.....that should ease the burden at terminal 2....it was definitely a bit fraught in there...luckily my girlfiend speaks fairly good english so could answers questions about "did she understand the rules for quarantine?" ""can you confirm the address for quarantine?" etc etc.....the bordr officers are certainly under some pressure...

 

Oh dear we are due to arrive at Terminal 3 so I do hope they keep us well clear of the Red Zone passengers.  I read they are supposed to be moving them to Terminal 4 as soon as possible but I doubt if that'll happen before we get back at the end of June.

Edited May 25, 2021 by trevoromgh

[trevoromgh]

I'm glad to report that the UK Gov website developers have made the task of finding reasonably priced test providers a bit easier now with a new tool to display relevant information by test method and UK region and  lists them in price order and you can find the tool located here.   However a word of caution as the suppliers do not always quote a price for the same thing for example Screen 4 are the cheapest provider on the list but when you visit their website you then realise they only quote a per test price so for the Day 2 & Day 8 Testing we need to provide they 'actually' charge 120 GBPs not the 60 GBPs which appears on the list.  So be careful.

 

Example screen shot (shows Self-test in South East results)

 

 

 

Edited May 25, 2021 by trevoromgh

[trevoromgh]

As a postscript to my last message I've had time to check these providers websites out and I suggest there are some dodgy ones amongst the lower priced providers.  For example Expert Medicals, 01 Test, Nationwide Testing, Star Medicals all say they are OUT OF STOCK of Day 2 & Day 8 tests, Sterling Testing has no link to purchase a test, A Hasu Diagnostics link was blocked by my antivirus software, BioGrad and 0044 Covid Test sites both look too amateurish.

 

I have just used the UK Gov link (mentioned above) again and a lot of them have been removed already so I suspect they were being added to the list before being vetted properly so be very careful which you choose as the UK Gov takes no responsibility for them.

[treetops]

21 hours ago, trevoromgh said:

Oh dear we are due to arrive at Terminal 3 so I do hope they keep us well clear of the Red Zone passengers.

 

Terminal 3 is not operating currently and if it does re-open soon it'll be for Red zone only flights prior to their move to T4.

[pixelaoffy]

I have contacted a company /lab that does the 2/8 quarantine tests in UK and they say when booking the test they don't have a printable proof of the tests. So how the hell can I show the airline and immigration of proof of the tests? Anyone else had experience of this ?

[treetops]

7 minutes ago, pixelaoffy said:

I have contacted a company /lab that does the 2/8 quarantine tests in UK and they say when booking the test they don't have a printable proof of the tests. So how the hell can I show the airline and immigration of proof of the tests? Anyone else had experience of this ?

 

You get a reference number that goes on the PLF.  Also print off a receipt or proof of payment.

[trevoromgh]

2 hours ago, treetops said:

 

Terminal 3 is not operating currently and if it does re-open soon it'll be for Red zone only flights prior to their move to T4.

Checked with my airline and it seems we are going to Terminal 2 after all so more relaxed now.

[BLACKJACK2]

Just been looking at this as I've received an email from KLM. I thought if you do test & release you didn't have to do the 2 & 8 tests but not so. What's the point in doing 3 tests in 8 days plus the one before you fly. Will have to stick with 2 & 8 test I suppose.