So that's it then, France is off! Quarantine from Sunday 4.00am

Oh I never realized that they counted in the DOM-TOMs’ weather forecasts. Shame there aren’t any near the poles. You learn something new everyday.

Yes I know Dinahmo, we lost our fuel allowance too. But I was being slightly generous, because I know that the people dealing with policy then, will not be the ones dealing with policy now. Different set of Spads.

Mamie

Political I think, though perhaps also being unaware of inclusion of overseas territories in data. I think it comes in the same category as not accepting our vaccinations as valid because they were not done by the NHS.
Anyway, am now off to the beach to enjoy the sunshine. ?

Being a bit off side here. The UK govt does know about the overseas territories. It's why they no longer give the winter fuel allowance to Brits living in France because they include the overseas territories temperatures with those of the hexagon when calculating the temperature at which they'll give the fuel allowance.

Sorry, my mistake. Without quarantining, but with pre travel test, and another on day 2 or before.

From 8th of August at 4pm, all residents in Europe will be able to travel to UK without testing or quarantine, if they have proof of double vaccination- the only exception is ... France.

How bl***y ridiculous- a political decision which has nothing to do with Covid.

No sense at all.

Apart from the problems with lorries and imports/exports via French ports- and the need to limit private trafffic. Most expats in France visit the UK by car, not plane.

No, not unrestricted MawBe. For some you even have to have "motifs impériaux". Martinique is a big worry at the moment though not Beta.
If you look at Covid Tracker you can see all the infection rates and the variants, including DomToms.
covidtracker.fr/
The South African / Beta variant has been around for months and there have been cases in mainland France, but they have fallen month by month, even before Delta came in.
People here were astonished when they heard about UK decision because it makes no sense.

I see that the U.S has advised their citizens not to visit this country because of the high numbers of cases.

Mamie

Yes MawBe it is indeed 10% of infections in France. But not in Metropolitan France where it is 3% and declining. The figures for France include the DomToms. Beta infections are almost all in Réunion and Mayotte.
These are thousands of kilometres away from mainland France.
Would you decide what happened in the UK based on the Falklands?

Is there unrestricted travel from France Outre-Mer - if it is still referred to as such - though?
That might be key.

sodapop

France has responded by putting the same quarantine rules in place for people from UK. Infection rates have risen quite sharply here and its probably due to tourism. People from abroad and French people from areas with a high Covid rate holidaying elsewhere.

So the French are taking it with them perhaps, spreading it even further afield. I would say most spread is from tourism, skiers and Italy come to mind. We had a low count, then hot weather brought people in from 50 miles away, infections increased.

It is an interesting insight into the extent and influence of lazy journalism though. This misinformation has been corrected extensively since Saturday, but there are still reports about "ten per cent in France" when it has been said over and over again that the data collection is not restricted to mainland France. Which bit of "the cases are in islands in the Indian Ocean near South Africa where the variant was identified" did they not understand? It is enough to make you weep.
I did read one comment that suggested they had looked up "Réunion" on Google translate and thought it meant a meeting.

Yes MawBe it is indeed 10% of infections in France. But not in Metropolitan France where it is 3% and declining. The figures for France include the DomToms. Beta infections are almost all in Réunion and Mayotte.
These are thousands of kilometres away from mainland France.
Would you decide what happened in the UK based on the Falklands?

Mamie

The Beta (formerly known as South African) variant is not becoming dominant in France Casdon. It is at 3% of cases in mainland France and shows no signs of rising. It is dominant in Réunion which is an island in the Indian ocean, near South Africa. France includes data from overseas territories in totals which brings beta to 10% overall.
It is a bit like basing a decision for the UK based on what is happening in the Falklands.
Delta is rising fast but cases are currently about ten times fewer than in the UK. I am not sure where your information on Gamma is coming from, but it also currently remains at a very low level.
There is no "perfect storm", but certainly no complacency about Delta either. The "pass sanitaire" (Covid passport) is being put in place whether people like it or not and areas of higher incidence are already subject to stricter measures.

Not what I read in the i Mamie

The beta variant accounts for one in ten new infections in France and the government is concerned that more cases could be spread across the UK by travellers arriving from France.

Professor John Edmunds, a scientist involved in advising the UK Government, said on Saturday that the Beta variant poses a “threat” to the UK, with evidence suggesting the strain may evade the effect of vaccines.

Speaking to BBC’s Radio 4 Today programme, he said: “The Beta variant has remained a threat throughout. It is probably less infectious than the Delta variant that is spreading here in the UK at the moment. Where it has an advantage is that it is better able to escape the immune response

He added: “As the population here becomes more and more immune, the conditions are right then for the Beta variant to get an advantage, so I can understand the concern

Political I think, though perhaps also being unaware of inclusion of overseas territories in data. I think it comes in the same category as not accepting our vaccinations as valid because they were not done by the NHS.
Anyway, am now off to the beach to enjoy the sunshine. ?

Do you think it’s purely political reasons that have led the British Government to impose the quarantine restrictions on France then Mamie, or is there another reason if it’s not the variants issue?

Casdon I looked at the data in your link. In France Delta is hugely dominant too. In Ile de France Beta is at 3.4% and declining. You have to take into account that case numbers, though rising sharply (Delta) are still low - 75 per 100,000 overall so a percentage like that is a very small number of cases. There is zero evidence that Beta is spreading in mainland France. "Concern" is just awareness of what hypothetically could happen.
Obviously the UK would want arrivals from Réunion to quarantine, though I read an (unconfirmed) report yesterday that they are not.
If true, this just confirms the stupidity of this bizarre decision to inflict quarantine of people returning from mainland France.
You couldn't make it up.

I looked at the map produced by the EU itself Mamie, and linked that with the press reports. It does show France at the higher end of concern within the EU for all three variants, whereas in the UK virtually all the infections are the Delta variant. It’s worth looking at tha link I posted, as you can see it on there. I also picked up that it’s regional, with a concentration of the Beta variant around Paris.

With Covid numbers so high here, the last thing we need in the UK at the moment is the complication of other variants, which is why I made that assumption, which may not be the reason although reported as such, but is plausible.

The Beta (formerly known as South African) variant is not becoming dominant in France Casdon. It is at 3% of cases in mainland France and shows no signs of rising. It is dominant in Réunion which is an island in the Indian ocean, near South Africa. France includes data from overseas territories in totals which brings beta to 10% overall.
It is a bit like basing a decision for the UK based on what is happening in the Falklands.
Delta is rising fast but cases are currently about ten times fewer than in the UK. I am not sure where your information on Gamma is coming from, but it also currently remains at a very low level.
There is no "perfect storm", but certainly no complacency about Delta either. The "pass sanitaire" (Covid passport) is being put in place whether people like it or not and areas of higher incidence are already subject to stricter measures.

There looks like the potential for a perfect storm in France unfortunately. You can click on each variant on the map on the front page of this report, and France is high prevalence for Beta, Delta and Gamma. Spain does look worse for Beta, but not Gamma as well. I’m not an epidemiologist but it can’t be good having high prevalence of all three strains all at once.
www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/covid-19/variants-concern

All over Europe- but somehow France has been singled out.

We have huge problems now with goods coming into UK and being exported- so a massive rise in tourism trafiic would have caused severe issues.

I think this is the reason. The AZ vaccine isn’t very effective against the Beta variant, which is becoming prevalent in France. If it becomes more dominant in the UK before the vaccine top up programme we are in big trouble again.
www.forbes.com/sites/jvchamary/2021/06/30/coronavirus-vaccines-effective-variants/

www.reuters.com/world/uk/exclusive-brexit-disruption-may-return-with-summer-tourists-dover-chief-says-2021-07-09/

It all becomes clear now - they had to find an excuse to stop tourism traffic to France!

The Chief exec of Dover harbour board announced a few days ago there was the potential for huge queues at Dover as the tourist season kicks off as they have allocated most of the lanes at Dover for freight. So why was France put on the quarantine list? To avoid long queues at Dover as Brexit farce would be exposed. 1000s of UK tourists who had booked holidays in France have cancelled as they cant afford to take time off to quarantine. So job done.

Kent County Council had already closed lanes on the M20 to hold freight heading the port in anticipation of delays but looks like the council jumped the gun. They wont be needed now.

Confirmed by Reuters.

Mamie

UK residents will now be able to come to France without quarantine. As double vaccinated UK nationals living in France, we will have to quarantine if we go to the UK, because the government will only recognise vaccines given by the NHS.
It is an utter disgrace. People are desperate to see their families.

Totally unfair and nonsensical. And I believe a political decision, anti-French/Macron posturing.

If you are well-off, it is of course possible. PCR test before and Locator forms, then Day 2 and day 8, with day 5 as optional extra, and for even more money, with same day results. About £450 on top of travel, EACH. !

Well if the infection rates go any higher because of the new variation, we have been promise new legal laws being passed of the mask to be worn in the streets again.