It’s not the end of the world, no, but just certainty is good. I have a trip next week booked, LFT’s booked and paid for and working the next day. Now I need to get new tests booked and take further leave for (unknown) number of days awaiting results. This is assuming by this time the new rules will be in place.
I don’t object to the rules, I think fast acting is good, and I accept travel still comes with risks.
I do think that before the Prime Minister does a speech to the country that someone in his team should say “hang on chaps, do we have the details sorted? Have the webteam got the updates ready to go when the Prime Minister says it?”
When he mentioned masks, all he said was that he was tightening the rules. Well there are currently no rules, so it’s not possible to tighten them. The PM’s Twitter account posted (during the speech) that it would become compulsory, which is really what should have been in the speech. Even one of the journalists had to ask the PM to be clear on that.
So arrive on a plane, take a train or bus (or both) home… then self isolate
As far as the masks go, we have been mask free since July but now we need them to stop the same thing we didn’t need them for.
I’m not saying that I agree or disagree with what the Gov has done, but you can definitely understand why so many are going to find it confusing. As @coffeemadman said, a definite lack of clarity.
We do need masks and sensible (and considerate) people are wearing them. The legal requirement is all that was dropped. If people burned them or threw them away then more fool them.
I think masks should be mandatory in certain places.
If they worked only to protect the wearer then sure personal choice works. Don’t wear one and only risk yourself etc. But masks help protect others and your personal choice shouldn’t harm others if it’s avoidable.
Look at the smoking ban in pubs. It wasn’t to protect the smokers.
I cant see any justification for that. If they work, wear them. It’s not a choice at that point but a necessity.
And I get the ambiguity in “If they work” but as I’m not medically qualified I’ll just have to go with the official advice on that one. I’m also not interested in debating it with anyone else who isn’t medically qualified. What’s the point? Neither of us knows what we’re on about
At this point, though, if anyone wants to debate the official medical advice then I want to see their degree certificate before starting the conversation. Two years of “all opinions are valid” and other nonsense has worn my patience out. (In general terms, not particularly in forum terms).
A family member is medically qualified and involved with COVID research - that’s where I get my information from.
Depending on the grade of the mask it will have varying degrees of protection for yourself and others. The surgical masks and cloth masks that the majority wear offer a small amount of personal protection but good protection to those around you. FFP2 masks offer good personal protection and even better protection to others. FFP3 masks are very good for both protecting yourself and others. All when worn properly (snug fit covering both nose and mouth.)
So yes, family member (and hence I) believe that a nose and mouth covering mask should be mandatory in crowded or indoor public places.
Notice, though, that the antis quote the same few medically qualified sources of information. Contrast this with the enormous number of real experts in the field (doctors, virologists, epidemiologists, public health experts, etc.)
To me it’s annoying (I’m hoping I get the refund on my LFT’s) but I criticised the government for leaving it too long RE: Delta variant so I will give them credit where it is due as we put in place plans (ish) before most of the rest of the world to try and prevent this variant getting to us.
The main issues are for travellers, whilst I understand there are some who have no choice to do so, for most it’s a luxury so it should mostly affect those people who took a risk (sadly it’s still a risk).
Spain announced yesterday that from 1 Dec all visitors must be double vaccinated. A negative PCR cannot be used instead.
This means anyone with kids is going to be unable to enter as they’ll not be double jabbed here, unless Spain put age based exclusion in (which they currently haven’t)
For Spanish speakers, here’s the official publication so there’s no worries about incorrect interpretation by third party sites etc.
I agree. I think it’s a good step, maybe it could have been bolder but at least it was fast. I suspect they’ve had their finger hovering over the button for a while now and this provides a good excuse to press it.
We are already walking a tightrope for the winter, and if this strain avoids vaccines, or is even just more transmissible than DELTA then we won’t get updates until Spring. Inconveniencing travellers is a small compromise really.
Thanks for this. Me and my partner are both fully vaccinated so we should be fine (if we go). Luckily for families it’s broadly speaking not the peak travel time to Spain so should affect a small number at this time.
Affecting my sister in law. We’re all meant to go in December to visit her father who hasn’t seen her or her children for over 3 years since he retired there.
She had everything lined up, including the PCR for her 13 year old as she’ll only be single jabbed when we go. That PCR now isn’t sufficient and the child can’t get her second dose in time, so likely the visit will be cancelled.
My wife and I are fortunate enough to not have kids, so we’ll go anyway unless more changes come in.
I think people are hoping in the coming days the Spanish government add age related clauses to the rule.
It will affect a large number of families who go to the Canaries at Xmas as it’s normally quite a busy time there
I agree that what I said is a massive simplification.
I’m not ruling out the validity of knowledge gained in other ways but I am ruling out having to do the work in personally checking to try and determine what a stranger actually knows and what they might be making up or just parroting from “Fred from the Internet”. I can’t be fact checking everyone, life’s too short.
