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Amber and what it means ?

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BAJ:
So I thought I understood after today’s announcement that Greece being amber meant no travel for leisure. Even checked the gov.uk this evening to confirm. The wording on gov.uk being ‘you should not travel to an amber list country for leisure purposes’
Oh well, as expected holiday cancelled for 29th May, couldn’t self isolate after the holiday in any case.
The holiday I should say is a flight only with BA and accommodation at Anatoli. Well Peter from Anatoli emailed me within 2 hours of the announcement to check that we would not be coming and to move it to next May.
Waiting to see if BA cancel the flight for a refund, if not we will have to cancel for a voucher as per their terms when we booked it.

BUT - then receive an email from TUI this evening saying they are flying to green and amber and specifically Corfu from 17th May, book your holiday here type thing! What the heck is going on, that is contrary to government advice for travel to amber countries. Seems like confusion reigns!

Karen:
I don't think the website has been updated. We can travel for leisure, but not until May 17th.

Karen:
Grant Schapps is trying to discourage travel to amber list countries, because of the stringent checks that will be done, on arrival at UK airports and the queues it will create.

Jimbo:
I think basically amber means we shouldn't travel, but it's not forbidden.

What is not at all comforting is the rule - including for green zones - that you must have a certified negative test before returning. Admittedly, the government site has not been updated since January, but I cannot see how this is going to work in places like Agios Stefanos. Although it can be a lateral flow test, it still means facilities will be needed for people to take a test and receive a certificate in English. And, of course, there's an unknown cost factor in this. Lateral flow tests produce a significant number of false positives, and the only solution to that is a PCR test. In 2018 331,000 tourists visited Corfu. According to some posts on Trip Advisor (???) a PCR test is available in Corfu Town for £60, with a three hour turn-around, so factor that in.

Maybe Lesley will know what plans are in place in Northern Corfu for certified testing. At the moment, travelling during orange classification looks very unattractive. That really needs clarification.

The "green" package for Tui customers from Chronomics is cheap at £20 for a pre-return later flow test and a PCR test on day two after return. Personally, I think the UK government should waive the pre-return test for fully-vaccinated people, whilst retaining the PCR test upon return. 

Karen:
I get what you are saying, Jim. Just been listening to Dr Chris on BBC. He is saying, although we are vaccinated, we can still pick up a variant, that might bypass the vaccination and bring it back to the UK, we really don't need that..

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