The United Kingdom announced a waiver that would allow travelers to abbreviate quarantine requirements that could potentially make foreigners freer in Britain than its own people.
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The UK Announced a Shorter Quarantine Period for Travelers
In an effort to bolster international travel and drive international business, Britain is announcing a “Test to Release” program. Current standards require visitors to isolate for 14 days with penalties for violators that range from £100-10,000 and could include exclusion from the country for many years.
However, the UK’s new program would allow visitors to test upon arriving in England (and Northern Ireland.) The passenger must organize the test before they leave but this is not pre-departure testing. Rather, the (coronavirus) covid-19 test is conducted in the UK, simply arranged in advance. Should the visitor receive a negative test after five days of self-isolating, they would be released and free to move about as they pleased. Results from the in-country tests should take no more than 48 hours but likely half that.
Current Lockdown in the UK
Like France and Germany, the UK has a very strict lockdown policy at the moment. It’s up for review on December 2nd but may extend longer. That has many Britons concerned, not just about the lingering covid-19 infection rates and the public health concern but also for the future of the country’s 60+ million workers and business owners.
As a former resident of the UK, I have been in contact with friends back in Manchester who have given some color to the lockdown. One frustration many have is treatment variances across the country. For example, Manchester’s “R” rate was 33% lower than London’s though the capital still held fewer lockdown restrictions as a Tier 2 instead of Tier 3 city.
Is This What a Travel Corridor Would Look Like?
The UK government has floated the idea of a travel corridor with several countries including the US. The White House, the Department of State and the Secretary of Transportation for the UK, Grant Shapps, are all looking for a way to restore travel and return to the United States.
The idea behind establishing a travel corridors list of safe entry/exit points would be to offer a single point of entry in both countries whereby travelers could move between countries. This would allow for an NHS test and trace model for those who wish to expedite their isolation period.
Safely lifting travel restrictions is even more precarious now than ever before given the recent increases in positive test results.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has urged caution and final numbers from the holiday weekend may further limit the ability of the two countries to roll out a travel corridor.
Opening the borders not only allows the economy of the UK to continue to rebuild but also the ability for those separated by a continent to freely see loved ones. While supporting the travel industry is a chief concern, safety outranks it, though those wishing to simply observe a two-week quarantine period can still do so.
Conclusion
There is a significant risk that the UK continues a full lockdown as it has now with just essential trips to the store, no cross-household gatherings, and virtually all business ground to a stop. However, should the UK extend the lockdown but open “Test to Release”, visitors to the UK would have more freedom than Britons in their own country. That’s madness.
What do you think? Should the UK allow foreign citizens to have more rights than its own residents? Do you think this is a sign the UK doesn’t intend to maintain its lockdown?
Lockdowns don’t work, time to open up. Those afraid of the virus will stay home. Those not afraid will be out.
If people get sick, put them in solitary confinement till they either get better or die. Thus we don’t tax our healthcare system as well on a useless virus.
Lockdowns don’t work? Tell that to Australia and New Zealand.
They are uniquely situated as islands.
Here is an nice read:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/29/world/europe/coronavirus-bergamo-italy.html
My takeaway.
1) trump is a pos. Always.
2) only bold actions by bureaucrats backed by evidence could have saved. If people are afraid of losing their jobs they will not take hold actions. Again trump is a POS.
3) people that break protocols usually are the ones who gain valuable insight. Following protocols leads to group think
Society should allow safety valves for people breaking protocols.
Trump is a POS.
Even a foreigner is still subject to the lockdown (until next Wednesday) and then the tier restrictions depending where he is located. So he is not free to move around willy-nilly. He is limited just like the rest of us currently are.
I’d be interested to see the data that shows Greater Manchester’s R rate was lower than London’s when it was put into Tier 3.
I think the only time a strict lockdown may work is in the very beginning of a pandemic when there is still time to contain it. Nowadays it’s pretty much a given that the virus is everywhere.
Hi Kyle,
I think there may have been a bit of a misunderstanding, the idea is that rather than quarantining for 14 days international arrivals can be tested after five days, then test, and if negative be released (only from the quarantine). This effectively cuts quarantine in half (not wanting to debate about whether quarantine is effective or not, just outlining the procedure). International arrivals means anyone arriving from abroad including UK citizens so this is not only available to foreigners. As mentioned in another comment though both foreigners and residents will be subject to whatever tier rules or lockdown is in place in their area after release from quarantine, so even after a test the rules still apply and everyone has the exact same rights. Hopefully this makes more sense.
With Manchester, and I don’t have statistics available, but from recollection, the per capita cases in the Northwest of England were amongst the highest in the country with London’s significantly lower even if the R rate was different which as far as I can tell is always a three week delayed estimate which makes it hard to use as a comparison at a given time where Manchester might have had three weeks of restrictions to bring the number down and London will have kept growing but could still be lower in a per capita case rate sense.
I live in London and this article is so off base with just about every detail.
This article doesn’t make sense. Under the new scheme after 5 days you’ll be subject to the tier rules of wherever you are residing.
In Tier 3 hotels aren’t able to accept guests except for essential purposes so most of them will be closed so they can furlough the staff and access government funding so travel to those areas if you don’t have somewhere to stay is difficult.
There is one scenario you have a point , if you fly in and travel directly to a Tier 1 area (only Cornwall or Isle of Wight realistically) then you have more freedom than someone who lives in England in a Tier 2 or 3 area since you take your tier with you, so a foreigner could visit a Tier 1 pub with 5 others from other households but a English Tier 2 visitor couldn’t. But its pretty niche….
Note that the UK border is not and never has been closed
Can Kyle go back to writing about Disney World?
Kyle has written about Disney every other week for the last six, you’d like more coverage?