UK and Ireland added to the United States travel ban

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• Mark says:

  14 Mar14 March 19:56

  At present the US is reporting roughly 2x as many cases and deaths as the UK, with a population roughly 5x that of the UK. However as we know the level of testing in the US has been much much lower, so the chances are that they are under reporting (to a greater degree than most other countries) and that the real per capita figures may not be much different, or even perhaps higher in the US.

  So whilst it may well be the case that the ban is extended it is certainly possible that it may not be, especially if Trump sees it contributing to the economic damage, his beloved market indices, his reputation and chances of re-election.

  One is for sure it won’t simply go away, at least not until the US like everyone else has been through a period of significant pain.

  • Paul says:

    14 Mar14 March 22:00

    His presidency is toast .
    Other thoughts:
    The 737 max is nothing but an expensive paperweight and dead duck. Will never fly again.
    Johnson is on the ropes
    Policy of heard immunity in tatters. Being ignored by almost the entire private sector who have travel bans and working from home. Schools to stay open but Eton closed.
    It a tragedy for those who lose family. And difficult times lie ahead

    • Jimbo says:

      15 Mar15 March 00:37

      Eton is not closed. The boys were on short leave – which happens twice a half – and were due back in their houses this evening for roll-call.

    • Simon says:

      15 Mar15 March 06:58

      It is not a policy of herd immunity. It’s a policy to delay transmission. HI is just a side effect of the policy. The CMO and CSO didn’t describe it like that – it was someone else (from the Behavioural Science team).

      • Polly says:

        15 Mar15 March 08:34

        It is a policy for herd immunity, with the secret hopes that state funded elderly care costs will fall rapidly…..

        • Nori says:

          15 Mar15 March 10:50

          Finally somebody sees it the way it is.

        • Lady London says:

          15 Mar15 March 13:05

          +1
          What do you think of herd immunity @Polly?

          Coronavirus never been killed off in cats.
          Common cold mutates each year. So any immunity that may have been created in those who caught it, is probably only partial.

          Influenza ditto. Most years flu vaccines are only partially accurate as the virus has mutated between vaccine design and flu arrival.

          Some years flu vaccine has been close to completely ineffective as the wrong guess was made about which strains to build the vaccine for.

          However herd immunity and partial immunity has definitely helped in the above cases. Just not the sick, elderly and vulnerable.

          We still don’t know what problems people may be left with ongoing after the acute phase of their bout with the virus passes.

          Has anyone seen any info about how long the virus can survive outside the human body?

      • Anuj says:

        15 Mar15 March 14:03

        I looked at the behavioural science team and found their Twitter. They just seemed like a glorified marketing consultancy. Certainly didn’t inspire confidence in the government’s approach to me…

    • Bazza says:

      15 Mar15 March 07:19

      #turnbackthexlock up remain! Vote for Clinton! Hahaha

      • Alex Sm says:

        15 Mar15 March 09:31

        Jokes aside, but given that all of the current ones are in the high-risk group, we might have slightly (or completely) different set of candidates by November

• Shoestring says:

  14 Mar14 March 20:02

  O/T had one helluva struggle to send my wife over on Ryanair to our place in the sun today to see her mum in hospital, she was doing all the crazy scatty worrying stuff about just about everything (maybe get sent to 14 days quarantine in a prison hospital if she looked feverish on arrival/ denied boarding/ arrested because she has 2 passports/ airport lockdown so can’t get home on Monday / couple of calls on the motorway should she turn back etc etc)

  Got there safely and is obvs very happy it passed without incident and she can see her mum (moving hospitals).

  Now – amazingly – knowing I am worried about getting out there for Easter hols, she has suggested I go out there earlier with my elder son and if she has to, will look after the other 2 kids (they can look after themselves 15, 17) if arranged flights get cancelled!

  Result!

  I think I will spend some time tomorrow buying some contingency Avios tickets if they still exist, ie I think schools could get closed Tues/ Weds so we could all 4 go out then etc 🙂 – a few more likelies to buy 50p tickets for if I can find them midweek

  she said the plane was packed same as normal

  • Anna says:

    14 Mar14 March 20:44

    Are you ever going to tell us where?!

    • Charlieface says:

      14 Mar14 March 20:46

      I think @Genghis worked it out, but yeah, we’re all dying to know.
      Somewhere on the Dalmatian coast was my bet.

      • Shoestring says:

        14 Mar14 March 20:49

        Genghis ain’t blabbing 🙂

        • Shoestring says:

          14 Mar14 March 20:54

          looks like I could buy cash tickets on BA for the best date – if no Avios flights available – then if not usable, cancel and get a cash voucher?

          not ideal, but I’m thinking I could cancel one of our forward Avios flights eg October or Xmas & if not too expensive use the voucher to buy a ticket instead

          ie there’d be a cost but I’d get the option to fly quite cheaply

        • Brighton Belle says:

          15 Mar15 March 08:19

          I think we should be told what he’s doing with those poor viral vector pussycats that Tesco are insuring. I have forwarded his ISP number to the RSPCA for an urgent investigation.

      • meta says:

        14 Mar14 March 21:44

        @Charlieface Not Dalmatia, as he would have to go under mandatory 14-day isolation. Looks like you haven’t been reading HfP carefully. 😂

        • Bill says:

          15 Mar15 March 01:16

          Becoming bored with shoestring

    • Bazza says:

      15 Mar15 March 07:22

      He said it once I believe when looking for cheap flights

      • mvcvz says:

        15 Mar15 March 08:44

        Bored doesn’t even begin to describe my own view of the imbecile. I’m right behind any policy which would quarantine him somewhere. Preferably on a permanent basis.

        • Mac says:

          15 Mar15 March 10:18

          You sound fun!

        • Spursdebs says:

          15 Mar15 March 11:59

          Why do you bother to read his comments then, I don’t get people if you don’t like something someone says don’t read it to start with! Some of you come across as so superior and condescending but are so thick you can’t just skip a posters comment.

      • Lady London says:

        15 Mar15 March 23:49

        Not even then, @Bazza, not even then !

  • Anna says:

    14 Mar14 March 21:00

    Hope they do close the schools, French medical officers now saying that children spread the virus fastest! Not helping with my paranoia lol.

    • Paul Pogba says:

      14 Mar14 March 21:31

      The British plan is to utilise the fact kids both spread the virus and for the time being don’t seem to be particularly impacted by it. The hope is the sooner we all get it the sooner we get herd immunity, assuming you can get immunity to a virus thats similar to the common cold and seasonal flu.

      • will says:

        14 Mar14 March 21:41

        The flaw with that plan is that 5% of people need ICU treatment else they die.

        Unless it affect brits differently to rest of world.

        Just to clarify there aren’t anywhere near enough ICU beds as Wuhan found out and as Italy is finding out. So the British plan is to kill 5% of the population, probably more as other people who need medical attention also won’t be getting it.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          14 Mar14 March 21:49

          Agree could be a massive strain on the NHS and really sad for those that won’t be treated and their families.

          Not wanting to scaremonger though and to add a little perspective not everyone will catch it and not all of the 5% that need ICU treatment will die.

          Let’s do our own bit and keep ourselves and our family members who are at risk safe. I think there are lots of personal choices that can be made to lessen the risk of catching it without needing Boris to make them for us.

        • marcw says:

          14 Mar14 March 22:19

          And its cummulative. Usually patients stay 2 weeks in ICU.

        • marcw says:

          14 Mar14 March 22:20

          I’m pretty sure there will be an U turn in UK Gov Policy. We know what works. We don’t know whether uk experimental policy will work efficiently.

        • Shoestring says:

          14 Mar14 March 22:27

          and they’ll start by closing schools next week

          I’d better start looking for those tickets out, early – we have fast broadband so the kids can do any remote study from our place in the sun

        • Tariq says:

          14 Mar14 March 22:29

          When you take the sentiment out of it, it’s just very unfortunate. If your plan is believing that you can avoid getting it, you’re just running from the inevitable. The Government have it right, the sooner everyone’s had it and developed some antibodies, the better.

        • Shoestring says:

          14 Mar14 March 22:33

          if the senior citizens could hide for a year (no social contact or infection) then get a vaccine, would that change your mind?

        • Anna says:

          14 Mar14 March 22:40

          It’s completely unacceptable to expect people to become infected with a little-understood diseased which may kill them or leave them with permanent lung damage. The general public seems to agree, hence the stockpiling and social isolating we are seeing. Folk aren’t so daft that they don’t wonder why the advice given by their government doesn’t match that of the WHO.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          14 Mar14 March 22:52

          @Tariq I’m fine with getting it if that’s what happens but I’m going to exercise better hygiene to decrease the risk as Id rather not feel crap for a week. Still going to work, the gym, pub, fly if they’ll let me etc

          However, I’ll be telling any over 70 I know to lock themselves away from others as much as possible (No public transport, no visiting people in hospital , no church/temple etc) until the worst of it is over.

        • Shoestring says:

          14 Mar14 March 23:02

          tbh the Govt should have said: 99% of you won’t get anything serious out of Covid-19. But we want anybody 70+ to hide in their house or flat for the next year whilst the rest of us get it. We’ll throw you the odd pack of pasta. That way we’ll have very few deaths but definitely acquire herd immunity. Then you oldsters can come out. By then, the vaccine will be on the way. But it won’t matter that much, because we now have herd immunity. Moo.

        • marcw says:

          14 Mar14 March 23:50

          at this time, tbh, it’s easier to minimise the spread -> virus erradication. It’s possible – but Europre INCLUDINF UK has no experience with novel and emerging diseases (look at China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan,…).

        • will says:

          15 Mar15 March 00:02

          The 5% came from the WHO report in China, they said that in Wuhan the death rate was around 5% as there was no ICU for those that required it. They said 15% of those infected need O2 and another 5% needed artificial respiration in ICU. If you can’t do those 2 things 5% of confirmed infected die.

          IF you do those things the death rate is under 1%.

          It’s report appears to have been backed up by Italy and Iran where the death rates look like Wuhan.

          IF this very stupid herd immunity idea is followed through everyone will be losing people that they know. You’ll also have the UK cut off from the world as other countries that contain it will not allow an infected population to inflict the same fate on their citizens.

          China, singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea all appear to have it under control with sensible measured controls, rigorous testing and contact tracing on new cases.

          Also the more instances of the virus you have replicating the more chance of mutation which no one has an idea on how deadly that may be or if immunity to this strain will provide immunity to another strain.

          It’s an absolutely insane approach.

        • Thomas Howard says:

          15 Mar15 March 00:18

          Shoestring, the experience in Italy is that 16% if tested patients require ICU (not 1%): https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2763188

          It’s incredible that you’re even belittling doctors in your extended family that feel precautions are necessary to prevent spread. We would all like for this outbreak to be as trivial as you believe but the evidence suggests it isn’t.

        • Will says:

          15 Mar15 March 00:40

          Exactly, give the WHO findings a read if you want sobering up. Their report on China is both the largest sample size and an insight into how one countries health system can deal with it until it’s overwhelmed with cases.

          The doctors weren’t running round in Wuhan in despair for a joke and they weren’t incompetent, they simply were in the middle of a situation where huge quantities of people were desperately ill and they didn’t have the resources to treat them.
          Many more would have died if the doctors had not worked so hard. They also tried therapies with blood transfusions from people who had recovered and anti viral drugs in large doses, it’s hard to know if that improved outcomes or not.

          If you doubt the validity of the findings in China, you need just look at Lombardy in Italy. It’s actually like Wuhan on steroids.

          This virus is far more dangerous than the UK government thinks it is. We wasted the time we had to prepare and act to stop it.

          https://www.reddit.com/r/China_Flu/comments/fbt49e/the_who_sent_25_international_experts_to_china/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf

        • Anuj says:

          15 Mar15 March 14:05

          The other flaw is the virus could result In a loss of lung function even after recovery in some people. Not certain yet.

      • ChrisBCN says:

        15 Mar15 March 08:23

        He’s been talking such nonsense on the whole issue, I didn’t realise it was alcohol related!

        • Alex Sm says:

          15 Mar15 March 09:40

          Who? @Shoestring or Boris?

• J says:

  14 Mar14 March 20:13

  To all, please let’s remember that for most of us this is a game and quite often points have been earned at no or little cost. There are now people’s livelihood at stake – thoughts with everyone working at the obvious airline and hotel groups affected. Your compensation for whatever avios redemption really does not matter – and if you think it does, shame on you.

  • Anna says:

    14 Mar14 March 20:47

    Nobody has said that, everyone is trying to make the best of a bad situation. Absolutely no need for virtue signalling or whatever it is they do on social media.

    • Novice says:

      15 Mar15 March 00:36

      Indeed.

      I agree. Why shouldn’t people expect compensation etc as that’s what these big companies treat us consumers with when they want. They just don’t like the taste of their own medicine.

      Anyone who had plans has not only had various issues with travel but add to that the mental pain we’re all going through. We should be getting goodwill gesture points etc too.

  • Shoestring says:

    14 Mar14 March 21:05

    there could be a time where you only have (say) 5 days to go Gold & it means a lot to you, could be worth it

    personally I’d rather get in 4 great European weekends with some hotel stay

    • Shoestring says:

      14 Mar14 March 21:08

      and there are dudes who do it for £1/ TP by instead of flying LHR to Miami, sort of do LHR-New York-SF-Dallas-Mexico City-Dallas-Miami for more or less the same cost!

      not that I’m a follower but I can see the attraction of beating the system with a good book/ IFE, free food & booze & probably the status will later serve well

    • Secret Squirrel says:

      14 Mar14 March 21:09

      France lockdown:

      What does the French shutdown entail?

      The measure applies to restaurants, cafes, cinemas and nightclubs as well as non-essential businesses.

      It would not, Mr Philippe said, affect essential businesses which he listed as food shops, chemists, banks, tobacco shops and petrol stations.

      So, how long until the UK follow?

      • sloth says:

        14 Mar14 March 22:01

        good to see they have their priorities correct with the tobacco shops being allowed to stay open…!

        • Shoestring says:

          14 Mar14 March 22:06

          🙂

          The UK is light years ahead of some European countries as regards tobacco and tobacco pricing, I’m so pleased for my kids – I personally never smoked but there’s not a smoker my age who doesn’t regret smoking, we’ve successfully stigmatised smoking and priced it out of affordability so that most younger people think ‘not for me’, not all, I know – but we’re getting there

          trouble is: they’re starting to think of alcohol the same way 🙂

        • Novice says:

          15 Mar15 March 00:20

          I personally think smoking is making a comeback.

          I refuse to inhale second or third hand smoke as a principle as it’s a lifestyle choice so why should I suffer for someone’s choices. Any family friends who have ever smoked have always been kicked out of house to smoke outside, even in rain and snow.

          I don’t put up with it so I notice more if I smell it. Honestly, its a growing problem especially with ppl who are stressed or whatever.

          It’s only frowned upon if you are in a posh area.

          What amazes me is how in studies it’s always shown that there’s a link between poverty and smoking. Where do the poor get the money to spend upwards of £3k a year on smoking.

  • mvcvz says:

    15 Mar15 March 08:48

    Do not preach to me please.

  • Spursdebs says:

    15 Mar15 March 12:05

    Feel better for that load of guff do you, my points matter to me I worked hard to get them. Also you are a hypocrite you are on a points blog moaning about people worried about … points. I’ve heard there’s something called The Guardian might suit your virtual signalling needs.

• Lady London says:

  14 Mar14 March 20:22

  +1

  • Novice says:

    15 Mar15 March 00:27

    So agree…

    If this virus doesn’t change human behaviour for the better then I’m predicting that humanity cannot be saved.

    • Polly says:

      15 Mar15 March 08:55

      Exactly….

• Paul Pogba says:

  14 Mar14 March 21:33

  Sky News reporting that Virgin Atlantic are requesting a £7.5bn credit facility for the airline industry: https://news.sky.com/story/virgin-atlantic-boss-urges-boris-johnson-to-sanction-7-5bn-airline-bailout-11957708

  • Shoestring says:

    14 Mar14 March 22:00

    sounds about right & expected – credit facilities in times of stress are nothing new & the govt getting involved would not be a surprise

    I’d be surprised if this were not turned into an opportunity

    eg RBS and other banks could provide the credit facility with Govt guarantees (so reduced risk to the banks) and turn a decent profit, we know IAG is a robust business and Virgin not so different, good times will return within 12-24 months, everybody wins

    • TGLoyalty says:

      14 Mar14 March 22:13

      Lots of Companies will use this to their advantage and “drag out all their dead”

      • Shoestring says:

        14 Mar14 March 22:22

        we did that with a big takeover, FTSE100 co, the co put aside a huge amount as part of the takeover, which got labelled ‘the guessit provision’ – and the takeover was well & truly over for several years whilst whenever there was something to bury you had to get approval for it to be dumped in/ paid for by guessit provision 🙂

    • Alex Sm says:

      15 Mar15 March 10:50

      What I really think is a scandal and should be prohibited or at least limited is that credit card companies sit on our money not releasing them to airlines. While maybe good for S75 (which they refuse to abide to anyway), this only contributes to airlines demise. This practice should stop

      • Genghis says:

        15 Mar15 March 15:52

        Are you going to start using your debit card (no S75) for everything?

• Trevor Bateman says:

  14 Mar14 March 21:51

  Hi
  Can you say what will happen if you paid upfront for a seat. Will you get the money paid for the seat added to flight cost on e voucher.

  • meta says:

    14 Mar14 March 21:57

    A though one to answer and asked a lot. Not according to original T&C, but maybe insurance claim? Perhaps this is something for Rob to alert BA to come up with official policy.

  • AJA says:

    15 Mar15 March 13:42

    Seat fees are apparently being refunded.

• meta says:

  14 Mar14 March 22:04

  Lithuania now closing borders too as of Monday.

  • meta says:

    14 Mar14 March 22:12

    And Norway shuts all airports!

    • Sandgrounder says:

      14 Mar14 March 22:33

      Latvia stopping all international travel by public transport, car travel still possible, but given surrounding restrictions, not to many places. OH will be frantic if the in-laws get sick and are out of reach.

      • Shoestring says:

        14 Mar14 March 22:43

        understood but these measures are usually just for a few weeks

        • C77 says:

          15 Mar15 March 04:42

          Usually?
          What’s usual about this situation exactly?

        • C77 says:

          15 Mar15 March 04:44

          I think you’ve been out in the sun (at your place obvs) for too long!

• Andy says:

  14 Mar14 March 22:41

  Hi Rob

  Any knowledge or views from past experience on what the BA approach will be to Amex companion vouchers?

  We’re booked into Boston and out of JFK during May and I guess the likelihood is that they may be cancelled. The voucher expires early June.

  If BA cancel our flight and I can’t fly before the voucher expires as the ban is still in place, will I just forfeit the voucher? or any chance they’ll extend them?

  Any thoughts appreciated.

  Thanks

  • TGLoyalty says:

    14 Mar14 March 22:44

    Closer to the time you should get an extension

  • Rob says:

    14 Mar14 March 23:48

    Seem to be offering 6 months on request.

    • Paul Pogba says:

      15 Mar15 March 08:47

      Might be difficult to redeem though given redemptions will be compressed into a shorter period.

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