Is it time to cancel?
Dec 13th, 2021, 02:41 PM
#1
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Is it time to cancel?
I’m scheduled to fly to London 1/14 to spend 3 weeks in London and Edinburgh. What I have booked can be canceled and the plane ticket rescheduled. It seems like the trend is towards the UK locking down again. I’m drawing that conclusion based on reading both British and US news sources. Of course the media is not as good as info from someone on the ground. So if you are there, do think the trend is to closing again?
Dec 13th, 2021, 03:01 PM
#2
I personally would not make any decisions yet. 34 days from now is an eternity. The rules change frequently. Some are advising that since omicron seems to be more virulent but much less deadly that locking down may in fact be counter productive. I'd wait until the first week of January and decide then.
I returned form London a week ago and just in the few days I was there various rules changed 3X
I returned form London a week ago and just in the few days I was there various rules changed 3X
Dec 13th, 2021, 03:11 PM
#3
[QUOTE=janisj;17313855]I personally would not make any decisions yet. 34 days from now is an eternity. The rules change frequently. Some are advising that since omicron seems to be more virulent but much less deadly that locking down may in fact be counter productive. I'd wait until the first week of January and decide then."
Can't help with the specificity of your decision, but I agree waiting as long as you can is the best option.
I have not read that omicron is thought to be "more virulent". It's been found to be more transmissible, but they are hoping it will be less severe based on the very preliminary data. Its too soon to make the determination.
https://www.voanews.com/a/omicron-mo...-/6348823.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/06/omic...rly-data-.html
Can't help with the specificity of your decision, but I agree waiting as long as you can is the best option.
I have not read that omicron is thought to be "more virulent". It's been found to be more transmissible, but they are hoping it will be less severe based on the very preliminary data. Its too soon to make the determination.
https://www.voanews.com/a/omicron-mo...-/6348823.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/06/omic...rly-data-.html
Last edited by yestravel; Dec 13th, 2021 at 03:14 PM.
Dec 14th, 2021, 10:06 AM
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Firstly, when it comes to covid (and many other things for that matter) I would take what you read and see in the media with a huge pinch of salt. Secondly, I would also take with a huge pinch of salt, anything that is uttered by any politician, especially our prime Minister. The cynic in me wonders if this latest range restriction is a ploy by Boris to divert attention from his illicit Christmas parties last year??
The press here in the UK is awash with how much more transmissible omicron is compare with Delta allegedly by a factor of around 3x+. That much seems to be relatively easy to quantify as our infection rates are starting to shoot up. Current actual figures for new infections are around 50k per day. It is estimated that Omicron could push this to 200k per day within a week. These sound horrendous in comparison with other countries but her in mind that the UK does more testing and genomic sequencing than most other countries. Rates for death and admission to hospital have not increased and the hope is that this variant is a milder form of the disease and could even be the beginning of the end of the pandemic. In South Africa where this was first identified, the indications are that the omicron outbreaks may have peaked and even be dropping - again a good sign.
The UK parliament are debating today whether to agree increased restrictions. that will almost certainly be agreed but only just. The political will is not there to accept another lockdown. The restrictions will likely amount to greater enforcement of mask wearing in pubs and restaurants and proof of vaccination or testing for sports events, nightclubs etc. - At least that is what I believe , but to be frank, I have lost the plot on what is actually happening. Despite what you may read in the press, life goes on pretty much as “normal “here in London ( at least where I go!) , I expect it may be a bit quieter in the run up to Christmas but I don’t expect much to change into the New Year barring a massive increase in deaths, hospitalisations or year another variant.
Against that background, I think you have been given pretty good advice above to hold fire until as late as possible to make a decision. A lot can happen in the next month. Indeed today the UK removed all countries from it red list and replaced the need for quarantine with 10 day isolation.
We are due are due to head in the opposite direction to California about the same time as you and I fully expect to be travelling. My main concern for us is that the US Government could look at the infection rates for the UK, and, forgetting that we are identifying many more cases as a result of extensive testing and decide to refuse entry for travellers from the UK. Though that probably wouldn’t affect you as US citizens.
Things are likely to become a lot clearer at least on this side of the pond, early in the New Year.Lets hope for the best!
The press here in the UK is awash with how much more transmissible omicron is compare with Delta allegedly by a factor of around 3x+. That much seems to be relatively easy to quantify as our infection rates are starting to shoot up. Current actual figures for new infections are around 50k per day. It is estimated that Omicron could push this to 200k per day within a week. These sound horrendous in comparison with other countries but her in mind that the UK does more testing and genomic sequencing than most other countries. Rates for death and admission to hospital have not increased and the hope is that this variant is a milder form of the disease and could even be the beginning of the end of the pandemic. In South Africa where this was first identified, the indications are that the omicron outbreaks may have peaked and even be dropping - again a good sign.
The UK parliament are debating today whether to agree increased restrictions. that will almost certainly be agreed but only just. The political will is not there to accept another lockdown. The restrictions will likely amount to greater enforcement of mask wearing in pubs and restaurants and proof of vaccination or testing for sports events, nightclubs etc. - At least that is what I believe , but to be frank, I have lost the plot on what is actually happening. Despite what you may read in the press, life goes on pretty much as “normal “here in London ( at least where I go!) , I expect it may be a bit quieter in the run up to Christmas but I don’t expect much to change into the New Year barring a massive increase in deaths, hospitalisations or year another variant.
Against that background, I think you have been given pretty good advice above to hold fire until as late as possible to make a decision. A lot can happen in the next month. Indeed today the UK removed all countries from it red list and replaced the need for quarantine with 10 day isolation.
We are due are due to head in the opposite direction to California about the same time as you and I fully expect to be travelling. My main concern for us is that the US Government could look at the infection rates for the UK, and, forgetting that we are identifying many more cases as a result of extensive testing and decide to refuse entry for travellers from the UK. Though that probably wouldn’t affect you as US citizens.
Things are likely to become a lot clearer at least on this side of the pond, early in the New Year.Lets hope for the best!
