petitefrancaise

Only 2 months late. Perhaps it's because no-one in their right mind would risk to go to the UK at the moment?
as of 10.00am Central US time no official announcement but this is being widely reported.
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-52594023

andyrebell

Yeah it's about time. But yeah would have a different ballgame if we had done that even when the yanks did their ban or enforced for all persons at the time returning brits had to go into it. Should go further like the yanks complete ban.

Former Lancastrian

Travellers from the Channel Islands, Ireland and the Isle of Man will be exempt.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...or-uk-arrivals

So fly from USA to Dublin. Stay one night if required and then Dublin to Manchester/London/Birmingham etc and voila no quarantine needed. Hopefully they will notice this potential loophole unless Republic of Ireland insists on arrival that you need to quarantine for 14 days on arrival.

petitefrancaise

well the USA stipulates that if you have been in EU/UK at any time in the preceding 14 days you must quarantine. So, I imagine that the UK will say the same if they bother at all.
Still not official and imo that horse has already bolted.

andyrebell

We should ban them as they have done to us. You don't come in unless UK Citizen or have leave to remain. Again should have been done 2 months would be a different ball game now.

scrubbedexpat096

We did actually do this initially for high risk countries then quickly realised it was akin to shuttng the door after the horse has bolted.


Also this is not currently announced here in the UK....

Giantaxe

Going to guess the exclusion of Ireland is due to historic agreements allowed Irish citizens to live and work etc in the UK.

Horse has well and truly bolted, so why do it now?

andyrebell

Because Johnson has to be seen to try and do something given that we have the worst death rate in Europe

petitefrancaise

Still no details except that there will be quarantine measures soon
https://www.bbc.com/news/explainers-52544307

Yankashire

There has also been reporting that France will be exempt based on reciprocal agreement. So, one assumes, we can head down there and enjoy all of their closed shops, bars, and hotels instead of our own...

I understand the logic. The government's science committee is exploring a move to the "New Zealand" model, which seems a bit ambitious at this point, but perhaps that could work.

EDIT: Petitefrancaise, I just saw the France angle was already mentioned in your link. I am thinking that will further complicate our goal of becoming the next New Zealand.

petitefrancaise

Well I'm just reading the French consulat in Houston message regarding travel for citizens back to France over the summer. Sounds like a bloody nightmare for the poor buggers. Can't see them loosening up restrictions enough to think about a corridor or whatever for the UK if even their own citizens and spouses/families are being asked to stay put here.

Yankashire

Yeah, I was wondering how the Common Travel Area fit into this. I know that the Republic of Ireland already opted out of Schengen border closures in order to keep the border with NI open.

Pulaski

"A bit ambitious"? The UK has just about stabliized daily new infections reported, averaging around 3,000-3.500 per day, whereas just about every other country in Europe has shown a marked decline (typically down by 2/3 or more) from peak numbers, with even Italy, Spain, and Belgium showing large drops in daily infections reported. At the moment the UK seems to be following the "US model", where the daily new infection numbers plateaued at the start of April, and have pretty much stayed at the same level ever since.

Yankashire

The media has been reporting today that the government has essentially said that non-essential international travel is off the cards this summer anyway.

Luckily the weather has been mostly nice for weeks now. Domestic hospitality establishments are supposed to reopen on 4 July, assuming the virus is under control, etc, etc. So perhaps people will at least be able to travel within the UK at some point.

Yankashire

Yeah, it's pretty bleak. Never mind that New Zealand is a country of five million people more than 1000 miles from the nearest landmass, whereas we find ourselves on an island of many tens of millions, that is close enough to mainland Europe that numerous unauthorized persons have been intercepted over the past several days attempting to cross the Channel from France.

I can't fault them at this point for attempting to manage this competently. One of the frustrating things about the UK, though, is that there seems to be a culture of great secrecy at the top level of the government, so you get these periodic pronouncements from on high without clear communication as to the thought process...

EDIT: I would also be cautious with comparisons of reported cases internationally; the countries in Europe are still pretty far askew from each other at this point re: testing.