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

[trevoromgh]

3 hours ago, BLACKJACK2 said:

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.

 

Quite right I don't see the point either.

[AnnieSeek]

On 5/20/2021 at 9:42 AM, polpott said:

Thousands of returnees from South Asia aren't.

 Your evidence? At the moment, those coming from India, Pakistan are on the red list and going straight into quarantine. 

 

[Tuvoc]

This does not sound good

 

New Thai Covid variant detected in UK as cases of Indian variant double in a week (thesun.co.uk)

 

Desperately hoping the UK don't add Thailand to the red list, and being wise in hindsight wish I'd have gone already instead of waiting until 19th June. Fingers crossed.

 

I think around 1st June is when the UK will do its 3-weekly review of the lists.

 

I don't know what a contingency plan might be - fly to an amber list country that accepts travellers from Thailand, stay there 2 weeks, and then go to the UK. But I don't think it would come to that. 

 

 

[polpott]

21 hours ago, AnnieSeek said:

 Your evidence? At the moment, those coming from India, Pakistan are on the red list and going straight into quarantine. 

 

Not between April 7th when Pakistan and Bangladesh went on the red list and April 23rd when India finally went on the red list. The delay was to smooth the way for boris' aborted trade mission to India. Money before lives again.

[AnnieSeek]

45 minutes ago, polpott said:

Not between April 7th when Pakistan and Bangladesh went on the red list and April 23rd when India finally went on the red list. The delay was to smooth the way for boris' aborted trade mission to India. Money before lives again.

 

But if India was not added to the red list, then how is it the fault of those Indians who returned? 

[trevoromgh]

4 hours ago, Tuvoc said:

This does not sound good

 

New Thai Covid variant detected in UK as cases of Indian variant double in a week (thesun.co.uk)

 

Desperately hoping the UK don't add Thailand to the red list, and being wise in hindsight wish I'd have gone already instead of waiting until 19th June. Fingers crossed.

 

I think around 1st June is when the UK will do its 3-weekly review of the lists.

 

I don't know what a contingency plan might be - fly to an amber list country that accepts travellers from Thailand, stay there 2 weeks, and then go to the UK. But I don't think it would come to that. 

 

 

 

Hmm not good news and it's unfortunate that when a country identifies a new variant it becomes labelled and subject to increased scrutiny when other countries just keep quiet about the ones they discover.  Luckily the stats are still low over here comparatively so we must just hope that counts for more than headlines.  

Want to get back to the UK to meet friends and family and get vaccinated (of course) but if the worst happened and they put Thailand on the Red list then I'd just stay here and hunker down until an opportunity arises to get a jab and travel eases.  I think the biggest problem then becomes airlines going out of business or requiring government support to survive else air fares will go through the roof.

[AnnieSeek]

On 5/18/2021 at 6:04 AM, 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.

 

And this is why the UK has one of the worst outcomes of any nation on this planet - partly due to selfish people like this poster. 

 

More than 100 cases of the new strain have been identified across the country.

 

Known as VUI-21MAY-02 (C.36.3), the variant was first detected in Thailand in people who had travelled from Egypt, Public Health England confirmed.

 

It was designated as a variant under investigation on May 24 on the basis of the mutation profile and increased importation from a widening international area.

 

There is currently no evidence that this variant causes more severe disease or renders the vaccines any less effective.

 

Full story: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/more-100-cases-new-thai-24202023

 

-- © Copyright Mirror 2021-05-28

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

[polpott]

4 hours ago, AnnieSeek said:

 

And this is why the UK has one of the worst outcomes of any nation on this planet - partly due to selfish people like this poster. 

 

More than 100 cases of the new strain have been identified across the country.

 

Known as VUI-21MAY-02 (C.36.3), the variant was first detected in Thailand in people who had travelled from Egypt, Public Health England confirmed.

 

It was designated as a variant under investigation on May 24 on the basis of the mutation profile and increased importation from a widening international area.

 

There is currently no evidence that this variant causes more severe disease or renders the vaccines any less effective.

 

Full story: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/more-100-cases-new-thai-24202023

 

-- © Copyright Mirror 2021-05-28

 

- Whatever you're going through, the Samaritans are here for you

- Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking COVID-19 updates

I have been in the UK since before the Thailand variant was detected. Also have tested negative 4 times in recent weeks. The UK is currently one of the safest places to be re Covid currently. Less new cases/deaths than Thailandf despite continuing to test 1m+ people daily.

 

Troll.

[Irate priest]

3 hours ago, polpott said:

I have been in the UK since before the Thailand variant was detected. Also have tested negative 4 times in recent weeks. The UK is currently one of the safest places to be re Covid currently. Less new cases/deaths than Thailandf despite continuing to test 1m+ people daily.

 

Troll.

 

You ignored all the rules pal couldn't wait for a haircut or go without a pint for 10  days 

The uk is rapidly going backwards with new variants due to people being irresponsible

[trevoromgh]

For those of you, like me, waiting with bated breath for news about when the next update to the UK Red/Amber/Green List will be. Here is an exert from the Independent newspaper website which might be of interest. I have boldened what I believe are the key points :-

 

When the traffic light system was announced, it was confirmed that the rules would be reviewed every three weeks.

Given that they came into effect on Monday 17 May, this suggested that the next review would be on Monday 7 June, a fortnight before the next major milestone on the roadmap out of lockdown.

 

However, The Independent’s Simon Calder reported that the review would actually happen on Thursday 3 June, with any changes to the list of quarantine-free countries taking effect one week later at 4am on Thursday 10 June.

The precise timings around the travel announcement have not yet been confirmed by the Government, with the briefing likely to come from Boris Johnson or the Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.

 

When it happens, you’ll be able to watch the action via a live stream on this page, as well as on BBC News and Sky News. You can watch BBC News online with BBC iPlayer, and Sky News through its YouTube channel.

 

I read this to mean that 'if' Thailand is designated a RED zone on the 3rd June then as long as your flight arrives in the UK before 4am on the 10th June returning passengers would not need to go into hotel accommodation but quarantine at home.   Keeping all things crossed that Thailand squeaks through this time.

[Tuvoc]

Announcement due today from UK Govt, and speculation that some Asian countries could be added to the redlist. Vietnam was mentioned as well as Thailand as possible as well.  No-one knows until it is announced, but I think Thailand will probably remain amber. If not, then there is no shortage of quite cheap flights next week back to the UK via Europe, if they give you 7-10 days to get back. Would have to re-book covid tests as well.

[Tuvoc]

Great news, Thailand has not been added. Phew !!

 

7 new countries on the red list:

 

Afghanistan
Bahrain
Costa Rica
Egypt
Sudan
Trinidad and Tobago
Sri Lanka

 

 

 

[trevoromgh]

52 minutes ago, Tuvoc said:

Great news, Thailand has not been added. Phew !!

 

7 new countries on the red list:

 

Afghanistan
Bahrain
Costa Rica
Egypt
Sudan
Trinidad and Tobago
Sri Lanka

 

 

 

 

As far as I know these are 'unconfirmed' reports as Grant Shapps has not made any 'official' statement as yet.  It is very strange how information is being released today.  All the media attention is focused on Portugal moving to the Amber list.  If you see the new 'Red List' additions confirmed somewhere can you post a link here  please?

 

[treetops]

59 minutes ago, trevoromgh said:

If you see the new 'Red List' additions confirmed somewhere can you post a link here  please?

 

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/red-amber-and-green-list-rules-for-entering-england

 

[trevoromgh]

OK thanks for the official confirmation link Treetops and as Tuvoc says that is a relief for those of us planning to return to the UK.  As things can change so quickly I guess we'll have to check this page just before we drive to the airport.   It would be very useful to know when the next scheduled list review is due to take place if that is mentioned anywhere.

[treetops]

4 minutes ago, trevoromgh said:

It would be very useful to know when the next scheduled list review is due to take place if that is mentioned anywhere.

 

Supposed to be reviewed every 3 weeks.

[trevoromgh]

5 minutes ago, treetops said:

 

Supposed to be reviewed every 3 weeks.

I fly out in 3 weeks from today but I notice from the UK Gov list country updates they give 4 days grace which is a relief in case Thailand gets caught next time.

[Tuvoc]

Yes, reviews are every 3 weeks but I think in between that if a particular country got very bad they can decide at any point to add to the red list ?

 

Anyway, I'm flying back in 2 weeks, so I' can relax now. The chance of things exploding enough here over the next week for the UK govt to take action are pretty remote.

[OJAS]

14 hours ago, trevoromgh said:

I fly out in 3 weeks from today but I notice from the UK Gov list country updates they give 4 days grace which is a relief in case Thailand gets caught next time.

A bit surprising that Thailand wasn't added to the red list, I think. But, as you say, good news (relatively speaking) for you and others planning to return to the UK over the next 3-and-a-bit weeks at least.

 

[trevoromgh]

As I have mentioned earlier in this topic, the UK Government list of 'accredited' test providers seems to have its fair share of cowboy operators amongst them and finally the media have begun to recognise this too as you can read in this SKY News Report whether anything is done is doubtful as the Government have stated already 'they accept no responsibility' for the suppliers listed. The w***ers.

 

[Tuvoc]

Yes, I hope my provider is OK. Because if they don't send you the test kits, or don't return the result promptly. you can't end your self-isolation. You can only do that once you've had the negative results. (theoretically). I wonder if they have a system of checking that you've had the results. They can check that you spend the 10 days self-isolating, and they know you've booked the tests, but do they know if you've had the results and what they are ?

[trevoromgh]

Well I've been back in the UK for 2 weeks exactly now so can report on my experiences getting through the Covid checks and quarantine. We did a transit through Helsinki to London and whilst we didn't go through immigration the airline Finnair did check that our PCR test certificates were in order and the PLF forms had been completed before letting us on the plane.

 

On our arrival at Heathrow the UK & EU Citizens were herded into a snaking queue which was huge as there were only 3 Border Personnel checking passports and Covid paperwork which was clearly inadequate so it took over one and a half hours before we got to front of the queue and then they waved us through without checking anything so a complete waste of time.   By then our cases had been removed from the conveyor belts so we grabbed them and found our taxi driver.

 

I'd ordered our Day 2 & Day 8 test packs from a company called Testing For All following a recommendation on this thread and sure enough the next day we received the packs via the DPD courier who left them in our porch and photographed them.  Day 1 of quarantine (Friday) had started well and later our Tesco food delivery arrived to keep us supplied during the 10 day quarantine period.

 

Day 2 (Saturday) we followed the instructions to Activate the tests on the TFA website and using the swab in our mouth and nose (not a pleasant experience) we sealed them in the packaging provided and I took them to my nearby Royal Mail 'Priority' mailbox where I had been assured by TFA it would be whisked to the laboratory in Birmingham where they'd be processed and the results accessible on the TFA website.

 

to be continued ...............

 

 

[trevoromgh]

..... second installment

 

Day 5 (Tuesday) received the negative test results online so a 3 day turnaround wasn't too bad so was optimistic for the next test.

 

Day 8 (Friday) repeated the test procedure with the other pack and posted it early in the same Royal Mail 'Priority' mailbox expecting a similar 2-3 day turnaround but come Day 10 (Sunday) supposedly our last quarantine day there was no result and the Royal Mail tracking was giving error messages instead of status reports. Contacted TFA Support who then explained that Royal Mail do NOT process the test packs over the weekend so I suggested that was not a 'Priority' service in my opinion especially when it meant I'd have to extend my quarantine period as you are required to stay in isolation until a negative Day 8 result is reported.

 

So Day 11 (Monday) went by with no progress followed by Day 12 (Tuesday) and on Day 13 (Wednesday) one result came through but not mine and as the next day I was due to get my first jab things were getting a bit fraught.  Just 2 hours before the England vs Denmark kick-off mine finally arrived so I could finally relax and try to enjoy the match knowing we were finally FREE.

 

The moral of this story is to try and avoid this Royal Mail delay is to either  a) pay extra for private couriers  or b) time your UK arrival date to be on a Sunday or Monday that way your tests stand a good chance of getting through to the lab unhindered by the Royal Mail 5 day working policy and your 10 day quarantine won't be extended to 13 days like mine did.

 

TFA Support were very friendly and approachable throughout and I would recommend using them but bear in mind my experience.  In all honesty the need for testing may shortly be curtailed if most countries decide that once you've had two jabs and have certificate/s to prove it then the need for further tests or quarantine will eventually disappear. 

[Tuvoc]

2 hours ago, trevoromgh said:

On our arrival at Heathrow the UK & EU Citizens were herded into a snaking queue which was huge as there were only 3 Border Personnel checking passports and Covid paperwork which was clearly inadequate so it took over one and a half hours before we got to front of the queue and then they waved us through without checking anything so a complete waste of time.   

 

Yep, I arrived 3 weeks ago now, and it was the same. After queuing for 2 hours we just got waved through with no checks at all.

 

Day 2 and 8 tests were already waiting for me.

 

I took those tests up to the Post Office myself, which you were allowed to do. Tracking showed them getting to the lab the following morning, and results came in the evening.

 

Only blip was that I went to the closest post office and they refused to take covid test packages, and gave me the address of another post office that would.

 

Edited July 8, 2021 by Tuvoc

[treetops]

On 7/8/2021 at 6:09 PM, trevoromgh said:

On our arrival at Heathrow the UK & EU Citizens were herded into a snaking queue which was huge as there were only 3 Border Personnel checking passports and Covid paperwork which was clearly inadequate so it took over one and a half hours before we got to front of the queue and then they waved us through without checking anything so a complete waste of time.

I arrived last night into Edinburgh (also from Helsinki) and went through the automated passport gates with no queuing at all (I was one of the first off the plane).  No-one checked any paperwork and it made me wonder if they have automated the checks somehow to tie the test booking and PLF to your passport number and it's checked in the background?

[GrandPapillon]

nobody is checking anything in Europe, it's all PR stuff, but on the ground, nothing

 

unlike the paranoid SE asia and Australia,

 

no wonder Delta is spreading like wildfire in Europe, there is simply no forced control of anything, only need to sign a paper claiming that you will follow the rules or do self-imposed quarantine LOL