Gran Alacant Forum
Gran Alacant Forum => General Discussions => Topic started by: Derek on December 21, 2020, 17:27.
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All Brits have been banned from entering Spain with effect from tomorrow.
See here
Spain will ban all entrants from the UK starting on Tuesday, although Spanish nationals will be allowed to return
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Spanish nationals and residents.
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Is that the mainland only? Or does it include the Canaries too?and how long is it scheduled for?
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I am no conspiracy theorist but - what is the likelihood its already VERY prevalent in Spain and France but they were simply not looking hard enough to spot the change ?
Earlier this month the "surge" in the Eastern Parts of the UK was written up (Guardian and BBC News online) as originating from returning holidaymakers as was mentioned in another thread .....
#justsaying.
My view on the "ban" is that it will be lifted pretty soon when there is a similar parity in Countrywide Cases / 100,000 if we can get to about 250 / 100,000 (now 325) things might relax a bit.
Makes me wonder why we didn't barricade against France when they were double our rate less than 8 weeks ago.
Ho-hum I'll leave all that to the scientists
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Is that the mainland only? Or does it include the Canaries too?and how long is it scheduled for?
I would think definitely yes.
Derek
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Beach Life
The answer to your question is money. There is a fine balance between going broke as a country and allowing the tax payers to die of the virus. If you want to hear a intellectual view of this virus go onto youtube and search for Piers Corbyn in my view it beats Catherine Tate and I thought she was quite good. I am convinced that had Mrs Corbyn breast feed her kids Jeremy might be running the show and his brother might not be spending his retirement on the top of a box.
Derek
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Like many others on this forum i consider myself reasonably well read, and no i dont include any media outlets or auntie Doris's facebook site. I did say to Mrs Wilson back in February which now seems a lifetime ago that it would all be about the money. Many have made a fortune, many have lost everything, it will cost us all in some way or another. Government decisions will be based on a cost versus death rate system and how tolerant society is with this ratio. In Australia every death makes the news, in the uk 500 day and we keep shopping its a mad world.
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Just received Gov UK email, Balearics and Canaries now included.
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The world is mad right now. The mutated virus has already been in Spain and France for weeks it’s also in Denmark and I would suggest most other countries. It’s only that we are the second best in the world in the uk at recognising virus strains that we spotted it and reported it to the WHO . The is even some evidence to suggest it may have come from Spain into UK .
I suspect the issues at Dover are more to do with Brexit than covid
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Im sure el presidente couldn't believe his luck when told the news and thought here you go Boris have a slice of this pie. Its only been 205 years you must give them time to get over it.
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To date, all scheduled flights into Alicante from the U.K. appear to have continued.
As previously stated, if you are Spanish national or resident ( with the paperwork to prove it ) and have the negative covid test result, you can return.
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Email from Gov UK
Spain travel advice
Change made:
Update to information on the restriction of passenger travel from the UK; travel from the UK (by air and sea) will be restricted from 6pm on 22 December until 6pm on 5 January (‘Summary’ and ‘Entry requirements’ pages).
Time updated:
3:39pm, 22 December 2020
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Should get my money back then on my 4th Jan flight (but it was only £25 as I hadnt bothered booking the "extras"
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As it will be a free change I'd hold on in case the flight you want is more. I've changed a cancelled £25 flight in the past for a new one flagged up as over £100 at no extra charge.
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Wilson wrote: It's only been 205 years
If you are thinking of Trafalgar, it's 215. Agincourt was 605. ;)
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Wilson wrote: It's only been 205 years
If you are thinking of Trafalgar, it's 215. Agincourt was 605. ;)
Neither Tony.
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on 18 June 1815 between Napoleon's French Army and a coalition led by the Duke of Wellington and Marshal Blücher. The decisive battle of its age, it concluded a war that had raged for 23 years, ended French attempts to dominate Europe, and destroyed Napoleon's imperial power forever.
Regards Wilson
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Perhaps it's now time to add France to the list of countries whose products I try to avoid buying.
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Aah. You're obviously an ABBA fan. ;)
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And off we go !
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55471282
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Its going to happen for sure ..... Wonder what "they" will do with that data ? :o
And off we go !
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-55471282
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from the gov.uk site just now .....
"Spain have announced they will be restricting passenger travel from the UK (by air and sea) from 22 December until 19 January with the exception of Spanish nationals and those legally resident in Spain. If you were due to travel to Spain please contact your travel operator before departure."
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Yes I also read that but I was surprised to read that if you go by road then none of the restrictions appear to apply. Therefore if you can get a ferry to France I assume that you can then drive down.
Derek
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It would appear so ... I am keen to get back and change my daily walking scenery and check on the Casa - but not that much ..............
Yes I also read that but I was surprised to read that if you go by road then none of the restrictions appear to apply. Therefore if you can get a ferry to France I assume that you can then drive down.
Derek
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France has also banned us until at least the 6th January. You'll also need a negative test and there's a travel curfew from 20.00-06.00
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/france/entry-requirements
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I'm pretty sure you can get to France with a test, the curfew isn't a problem if you stop over, the French/ Spanish border will be the issue but even if thats negotiated the Spanish internal borders are still shut unless you are travelling to your main residence. I've considered it but wouldn't risk being turned back when halfway there.
Best to be responsible and wait for the all clear.
Can we sneak in through Gibraltar now they're in Schengen?
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Off Gov UK
France restricted travel from the UK from 00:00 (CET) on 20 December. This travel restriction applies to air, car, ferry and train passengers. From 00:00 (CET) on 22 December, until at least 6 January, only the following categories of people will be authorised to travel to France from the UK:
French nationals and nationals of the European Area and their spouses and children
British and/or third country nationals who are either habitually resident in France, the European Union or the European Area, or who must travel for certain essential reasons (as specified by the French government)
British nationals moving to France to settle, on or before 31 December 2020
British or third country nationals travelling for certain exceptional reasons, for details, see the French Embassy London’s list
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Yep, obstacles everywhere. As I said best to wait for the all clear, I'm working on Easter anything sooner will be a bonus.
I believe Norway can be nice in winter. :)
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Is there an actual lockdown in Spain or is it just restrictions ? We are not hearing anything on the news about Spain so assuming they have it under better control than the UK. Are restaurants and hotels open and normal shops ? We are due out end of January but are waiting for the vaccine now. Should get it by end February. I hear flights are still coming in as friends of ours were coming out at the end of December, they changed their mind about coming but the flight still flew to Alicante
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You can’t enter Spain unless you are a resident so unless you are you won’t be going to Spain. This is stop the new variant coming to Spain, however as reported in el pais today it’s been circulating for weeks and found in some who have no connection to anyone from uk
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Just wondered why the Ryanair flights are still coming in if it’s not allowed then unless it’s Spanish people returning. I do know of people who have driven over and got through but don’t think it’s very sensible at the moment even if we could fly. Let’s hope they crack on with the vaccines so we can get out of this mess
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Interestingly some British viral experts believe the new strain actually came to UK from Spain . There is also a lot of evidence that it is in most countries and has been for a while
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Is there an actual lockdown in Spain or is it just restrictions ? We are not hearing anything on the news about Spain so assuming they have it under better control than the UK. Are restaurants and hotels open and normal shops ? We are due out end of January but are waiting for the vaccine now. Should get it by end February. I hear flights are still coming in as friends of ours were coming out at the end of December, they changed their mind about coming but the flight still flew to Alicante
We are not in national lockdown, but have restrictions, which will be changing slightly tomorrow. The new regulations are :
1) The perimeter confinement of the Valencian Region is extended until January 31.
2) The curfew now starts at 10pm
3) Bars and restaurants close at 5 pm
4) Smoking is prohibited on the terraces and is reduced to a maximum of 4 people per table.
5) The capacity in all businesses is reduced to 30% .
6) The maximum number of people in social gatherings is kept at 6 and in the case of weddings or mass family celebrations it is reduced to 15 people outside and 10 indoors.
These restrictions will be in place until Jan 31st at a minimum. Only residents and Spanish Nationals are allowed to enter the country by sea or air and with a negative PCR test. However we are aware of people driving down, which means travelling through other Regions also with perimeter closures, which is obviously illegal.
All shops etc are open and life here is pretty 'normal', obviously masks have to be worn at all times when moving around.
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Interesting to hear that, what's the infection rate like in the Alicante area ?
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Interesting to hear that, what's the infection rate like in the Alicante area ?
We have been really lucky and have one of the lowest infection rates in Spain and they want to keep it this way, hence the new regulations.
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Thank you for the update on the restrictions. It’s great to know that it’s more “Normal “ in Spain and that the region has one of the lowest rates in Spain. Just heard at lunch time our flight at the end of January had been cancelled so have rebooked for March at no extra cost with EasyJet which was a bonus. Fingers crossed we can fly then as a bit concerned leaving our property for so long. It will be a year since we travelled to GA
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We aRe the same NickiH,it will one year next month since we were in GA,although we have a reliable key holder it's still a little disconcerting not to be able to visit.We have booked with Jet2 for the end of February but ,tbh,I don't hold out much hope .My son is there at Easter, so it looks like late April for us.
Keep safe everyone.
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We are the same we haven't been out since February ,luckily are neighbours are really good and look after our house,but our MOT is due in February and we can't get over.I don't think we will be out this year unless the vaccine is rolled out and we can travel safely into Spain to keep us safe and the residents GA are safe.
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Interesting to hear that, what's the infection rate like in the Alicante area ?
Last 14 days:
Alacant - 224 / 100,000
Elche - 215 / 100,000
Santa Pola - 226 / 100,000
Spain Total - 271 / 100,000
UK 720 / 100,000
There are some (very) hotspots in the Valencia region - mostly north of Calpe and Inland, some over 1000 cases per hundred thousand (hence the Valencia wide restrictions)
Have a look on the map, the areas of concern are circled in red
https://icvgva.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/3a3115ad642a4516b0928f21e395b32d
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These infection figures are like YoYos in how they fluctuate and some Governments are acting like YoYos in their response to them rather than taking a longer term view and planning accordingly.
Mrs H and I were chatting about 2021 holidays last week, for the first time ever we have entered a new year with nothing booked, not even a weekend in The Dales, we are firmly of the view that it will be the Autumn of this year, with any luck, before we pack our cases for any type of holiday.
The letter or email asking us to renew our Travel Insurance, due for renewal later this month, will go unanswered.
Regards all
John
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Higher number than I thought. Pretty much on a par with us in Devon as our rates are one of the lowest in England.
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Higher number than I thought. Pretty much on a par with us in Devon as our rates are one of the lowest in England.
It’s funny how as time passes how 250 per hundred thousand is now considered low and something positive.