Teenager going on holiday to Greece - or is she?

Spendless

My 18yo daughter has a holiday booked for Rhodes, Greece with her boyfriend (also 18) travelling July 8th .  It was booked last summer. I was really hoping that the destination would  be put on a Green list last week but that wasn't to be. So there's time  for a fresh announcement in time before they go away but I'm not holding my breath. What I'm wondering is will they have time between any new announcement re traffic light countries and going away to get the tests required sent to them? Are they allowed to send off for an Amber pack now and just not use the other bits if Rhodes/Greece becomes green or doesn't it work like that?  

Re their jabs if this is relevant info.  Daughter has had her 1st covid jab this weekend, but it's not long enough time for her to get her 2nd jab before going. Boyfriend so far hasn't been able to have any so far as he lives in a neighbouring town, they haven't reached their 18 year olds yet and haven't offered any 'any age drop ins'. I've tried to get him in in our town instead, as he works here and until recently was also in education here but the criteria was the town where you were registered with a GP so ineligible.

 Sorry in advance if I've confused anything here. I'm not overly familiar with what is needed for travel abroad as I have no desire to go myself (because I can't be doing with the faff not for any other reason) so help in clarifying what they need to do is very much appreciated. 
 

silvercar

Always easier to think of it as a game of two halves.
They can get the tests they need for Greece before they go. Then when they are there they can see what they need to come home. That way if Greece changes colour status while they are away they can change their choice of tests.

Spendless

silvercar said:

Always easier to think of it as a game of two halves.
They can get the tests they need for Greece before they go. Then when they are there they can see what they need to come home. That way if Greece changes colour status while they are away they can change their choice of tests.

Ahh thank you. That simplifies it a bit. They are only going for a week though. I've tried reading articles on what is needed to go to Green and Amber countries and found itr confusing. I need an idiots guide.
So from what I've worked out 
Green
 Take a pre departure test before going abroad
You might need another test for the country you are visiting? How do you find this out?
Take another test on or before day 2 of return.
Do you also need to take a test in the country you're in (in this case Greece) before returning to U.K?

Amber 
Take a pre departure test.
On return quarantine for 10 days taking tests on days on day 2 and day 8, you can also pay for another test on day 5 to release yourself from quarantine early.

Is this correct or have I missed or misunderstood something? 

 

epm-84

Spendless said:

silvercar said:

Always easier to think of it as a game of two halves.
They can get the tests they need for Greece before they go. Then when they are there they can see what they need to come home. That way if Greece changes colour status while they are away they can change their choice of tests.

Do you also need to take a test in the country you're in (in this case Greece) before returning to U.K?

That will also depend on the policy in the destination country and the airline's policy.

Have you checked the Greek government page: https://travel.gov.gr/#/ 

epm-84

Spendless said:

My 18yo daughter has a holiday booked for Rhodes, Greece with her boyfriend (also 18) travelling July 8th . 
...
Re their jabs if this is relevant info.  Daughter has had her 1st covid jab this weekend, but it's not long enough time for her to get her 2nd jab before going. Boyfriend so far hasn't been able to have any so far as he lives in a neighbouring town, they haven't reached their 18 year olds yet and haven't offered any 'any age drop ins'. I've tried to get him in in our town instead, as he works here and until recently was also in education here but the criteria was the town where you were registered with a GP so ineligible.

Unless they live in an area where the Delta (Indian) variant is spreading, have one of the underlying health conditions/disabilities that allows them to get early vaccination or work for the NHS/ in social care then they aren't yet eligible for 1st doses.  25-29 year olds are the youngest age group that has been invited to book and that's only been the case since Tuesday this week.  Some under 25 year olds may have been lucky if older groups didn't fully book all slots and there some vaccine doses going spare which were then offered to anyone who could turn up.  You really did waste your time (and the receptionist's time) by getting in contact with a GP led vaccination clinic as GP surgeries can only offer services to registered patients except in an emergency and a routine vaccination is not an emergency.

As your daughter has had a 1st jab on 5th June, she should be eligible for a 2nd dose on or around 28 August (11 weeks after the 1st is the target for under 50s.)  Presumably she's been given the Pfizer jab and received the leaflet about the vaccine which states a 1st dose takes around 4 weeks to become effective and you don't get maximum protection until 2 weeks after the 2nd dose.  Therefore, if she hopes to go away on 8th July she needs to be very careful in the coming weeks, she's effectively still unprotected and could still easily get COVID until the vaccine takes effect (especially if she is somewhere where the Delta variant is in circulation), which could prevent the holiday from going ahead whether she wants to go or not.

I managed to go to Greece last year but the threat of potentially having to self-isolate and miss the holiday meant I only went out for essential reasons for the 2 weeks before going on holiday.

Brie

epm-84 said:

 You really did waste your time (and the receptionist's time) by getting in contact with a GP led vaccination clinic as GP surgeries can only offer services to registered patients except in an emergency and a routine vaccination is not an emergency.

That's a bit unkind!  You only know things like this when you inquire and the surgery will know best what can be done.  Besides I'm sure it made the receptionist's day to have such a question - in my experience many of them love to snap at so called "time wasters"!!!

sheramber

What you must do if you have been in an amber country or territory in the 10 days before you arrive in England.

You must follow these rules even if you have been vaccinated.

Before travel to England

Before you travel to England you must:

• take a COVID-19 test
• book and pay for day 2 and day 8 COVID-19 travel tests – to be taken after arrival in England
• complete a passenger locator form

On arrival in England

On arrival in England you must:

• quarantine at home or in the place you are staying for 10 days
• take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 and on or after day 8
• ...............

You may be able to end quarantine early if you pay for a private COVID-19 test through the Test to Release scheme.

Green list

You must follow these rules even if you have been vaccinated.

Before travel to England

Before you travel to England you must:

• take a COVID-19 test
• book and pay for a day 2 COVID-19 test – to be taken after arrival in England
• complete a passenger locator form

On arrival in England

You must take a COVID-19 test on or before day 2 after you arrive.

Travel to Greece
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/greece/entry-requirements#entry-rules-in-response-to-coronavirus-covid-19

You must wear a face mask at all times when on an aeroplane, bus, train or ferry travelling to or from Greece; and whilst at airports.

The following measures are in place with respect to travel to Greece:

• Travellers must fill in a Passenger Locator Form (PLF) no later than 11:59pm of the day before arriving in Greece. Please see below for further guidance on the Passenger Locator Form.
• Arrivals from the UK must provide either; proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test, undertaken within the 72 hour period before arrival into Greece, or proof of two COVID-19 vaccinations completed at least 14 days before travel (see Demonstrating your COVID-19 vaccination status). Travellers with proof of either are exempted from the need to self-isolate on arrival to Greece.
• Failure to provide proof of either may result in your carrier not allowing you to travel and will likely result in the Greek authorities refusing you permission to enter Greece.
• The exemption from self-isolation detailed above also applies to arrivals from the EU/EFTA states, or one of the following countries; Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Thailand, Rwanda, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, Russian Federation, United States, Serbia, Israel, North Macedonia, Canada, Belarus, Bahrain, Qatar, China, Kuwait, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
• In addition, arrivals into Greece may be required to undergo a rapid COVID-19 test on arrival.
• If you test positive on arrival in Greece, you (and those you are travelling with) will have to self-isolate in quarantine hotels provided by the Greek state for at least 10 days. The expenses of the accommodation in quarantine hotels are covered by the Greek state. Local authorities will be able to offer further advice on self-isolation requirements.

You should not use the NHS testing service to get a test in order to facilitate your travel to another country. You should arrange to take a private test.

You must comply with all instructions given by the Greek authorities. Failure to do so may result in you being refused permission to enter Greece and/or legal enforcement.

You should also be aware that if other passengers on your flight, bus, train or ferry later test positive, you may be subject to further quarantine/self isolation requirements. These will be mandatory and you should comply with the Greek authorities’ requirements.

epm-84

Brie said:

epm-84 said:

 You really did waste your time (and the receptionist's time) by getting in contact with a GP led vaccination clinic as GP surgeries can only offer services to registered patients except in an emergency and a routine vaccination is not an emergency.

That's a bit unkind!  You only know things like this when you inquire and the surgery will know best what can be done.  Besides I'm sure it made the receptionist's day to have such a question - in my experience many of them love to snap at so called "time wasters"!!!

I was actually being very kind, considering I posted a whole load of useful information which can easily be found using Google or by reading the vaccine information leaflet that her daughter will have been given. 

I'm sure my surgery isn't alone in sending out texts to patients saying they'll be invited to book a vaccine when it's their turn and not to call the surgery asking about them and also saying to phone 119 not the surgery if you're planning to go on holiday and need proof of vaccination.  The reason they're doing this is surgeries have lots of additional admin to run vaccination clinics and as a result their admin staff are stretched.  You'll see from other threads some people have said trying to get hold of anyone at their GP by phone is difficult, some of these people have more important things to worry about then trying to queue jump their daughter's boyfriend for a vaccine for a holiday to potentially reduce the cost of testing.  

Have you ever worked in a role where you're trying to do 50 hours of work in 35 hours?  I guess not because you seem to think the receptionist will just be sitting around twiddling their thumbs and will appreciate having someone to talk to about anything, when the reality is making unnecessary calls to surgeries at the moment is putting overworked NHS staff under additional stress.  Some surgeries have actually had to withdraw from doing further COVID vaccinations because they don't have the resource to carry on doing them.

If the OP can post a message on MSE, then she is also capable of typing in COVID vaccinations into Google, finding the NHS booking system which is the top result and finding on the home page that those who are under 25 have not routinely been invited to book COVID vaccinations.  She is probably also capable of clicking the 'news' tab on Google and noticing that the NHS in many areas are now warning shortages of vaccines will cause a delay in the roll out, meaning her daughter's boyfriend, whose 18, may not get vaccinated until July.  Her GP's website also probably states about how visitors not registered with the practice can get treatment but only on an emergency basis, if not the NHS site will.

As an aside I read a thread in January where someone said they had received a text from their GP asking them to not to call about COVID vaccines but decided to anyway because her mother was over 90 and she was aware people over 80 were getting vaccinated, despite the government defining over 80s as one group not saying oldest first within that group.  It's like some people have selective reading or thing the messages apply to everyone else except them.

Brie

epm-84
Well that's me thoroughly slapped down!!  All I meant was there is so much info out there that sometimes a direct approach is the most efficient.  And I was trying to be nice about it too!!
And while I really do appreciate the NHS and much of what it has done in the last year I have mixed feelings about surgery reception staff due to errors they have made and a certain officious behaviour I've encountered.  That has included needing to go a doorstep them in order for them to consider vaccinating my MiL who at 94 and on multiple medications they considered "not  vulnerable" compared to healthy individuals in their 50s.
And yes in fact I have worked up to 90 hours in some weeks to cover a 35 hours per week job.

2childmum2

There was nothing in the ops post that led me to believe they had phoned their GP about this, only that they had tried to find out whether the boyfriend could be vaccinated in their town, where it sounds as if extra vaccines are available for younger people, as is happening in some areas with high infection rates. 

epm-84

2childmum2 said:

There was nothing in the ops post that led me to believe they had phoned their GP about this, only that they had tried to find out whether the boyfriend could be vaccinated in their town, where it sounds as if extra vaccines are available for younger people, as is happening in some areas with high infection rates. 

'Tried to get him in' suggests contact was made with either a GP surgery or a GP led vaccination centre (if it wasn't GP led it wouldn't be specific to those registered with a GP in that town.)  If they had asked a question on a local Facebook group or asked a friend who works there then they probably would have said that.

It's actually a misconception that extra vaccines are being made available for rates with higher infection rates.  BBC North West Tonight did a detailed story on this last night and the scientists have recommended more vaccines for the areas where the Delta variant is present but the government have said no as they say it would involve reducing supply to another part of the country.  In areas like Bolton they have decided to use the supplies they have been allocated differently so 18-30s get a 1st vaccine early, subject to availability.