Boris Johnson today warned against visiting ‘amber list’ countries on holiday amid growing confusion as the EU agreed to open its borders to fully vaccinated tourists and five million Britons booked European summer breaks with flights now down to £5. The PM has said Britons should not be heading to Europe, even if the EU would allow it, warning anyone flouting 10-day quarantine or testing that they will be punished heavily. Regardless, hundreds of Britons today flocked to airports for flights to amber list destinations, with several saying that they were unconcerned about breaking the rules because they had been vaccinated.
Ryanair sought to cash in on the boom, offering £5 flights to ‘amber list’ destinations such as Barcelona, Dublin, Corfu, Berlin and dozens more cities and resorts across Europe through June, when the EU is expected to open up to tourists. Easyjet are now offering flights to most destinations for between £25 and £30 next month, and has promised customers they can change their booking until just 24 hours before departure in case an amber destination turns green. Tui, the UK’s biggest holiday company, has seen a surge in sales for ‘amber’ destinations in July and August. Most customers are booking breaks to Malaga in Spain, Ibiza and the Canaries or on Greek islands such as Rhodes, Crete and Kos.
Critics have pointed out that the UK’s traffic light system is also adding to the confusion, because an amber light can mean stop or go, with people left ‘baffled’ by the PM’s decision to legalise holidays from May 17 only to urge them to stay at home.
Interesting you mention her…I was chatting to Mr P the other day about how she would have managed this whole situation. I was never a fan, (a bit young anyway) but she got stuff done. No U turns for her :shock:
Test and Trace failure helped Indian variant spread, report says
For three weeks in April and May, eight local authorities in England did not have access to the full data on positive tests in their area.
The number of missing cases was highest in Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire.
A recent surge in infections there has been linked to the Indian variant.
The government said a “small number” of people in contact with those who tested positive for coronavirus had “experienced a temporary delay in getting a message from NHS Test and Trace”.
The other areas affected by what is thought to have been a technical glitch were Blackpool, York, Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock.
Well, I can’t blame “Incompetent” Harding for that …
Nevertheless, the “glitch” is an unfortunate reminder of the inadequacies of the TNT system she “oversaw” … :roll:
Three days after Mr Hancock first referenced them in the Commons, the Department of Health has refused to provide a source for this data, or to say which dates it relates to.
Shadow Health Minister Justin Madders said:
“Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable.” Mark Twain, 1835-1910
Matt Hancock is, patently, a bender of statistics … :roll:
She wasn’t perfect; nobody is, but as far as I’m concerned she was the best PM we have had since Winston Churchill and the best I have known over my lifetime.
Even better, she came from a working class family. Her dad was a shopkeeper and she never went to Eton nor was she in the Bullingdon Club!
People in “Indian variant” surge areas warned ‘stay local’
The government has advised people not to travel into and out of areas hardest hit by the Indian variant of Covid-19 unless necessary, it has emerged.
Health officials said it was spreading fastest in Bolton, Blackburn, Kirklees, Bedford, Burnley, Leicester, Hounslow and North Tyneside. Bolton in Greater Manchester recorded 451 cases per 100,000 people in the week to 20 May, the highest in England. People living in the affected areas are also asked not to meet indoors.
On Friday, the government issued guidance on its website where it recommended those living in the listed areas:
[LIST]
[]Meet outside rather than inside where possible
[]Keep two metres apart from people who you do not live with (unless you have formed a support bubble with them), this includes friends and family you don’t live with
[*]Avoid travelling in and out of affected areas unless it is essential, for example for work (if you cannot work from home) or education
[/LIST]
The guidance appears to have been updated on Friday, without any government announcement, to include the eight affected areas - although it was first given earlier in the month for Blackburn and Bolton.
Obfuscation, prevarication, procrastination (or as Eton scholars would say “Obfuscation, praevaricationis, consules mora exacerbaverant”) is the motto for BJ’s “Guide for Cabinet Members” … :shock:
I’m in kirklees . I cant help but notice all these hotshots are heavily populated Muslim area mine 8ncluded. I wonder if many of them aren’t getting vaccinated? Is this the beginning of another wave. I hope not
Omah, did you see in the news that the new guidance for going to places in England that have high Indian variant cases, had been “quietly” introduced, with no fanfare or announcements. Even the councils themselves were not informed!
That’s what I get for bustling in and blurting, without reading what was said beforehand. Apologies! 