Predictions of when international flights may resume/bans lifted

[drron]

Well as far as I am concerned International travel will have opened up when I can leave the country as I am vaccinated and on return ,again as I have been vaccinated ,I can do the quarantine at home.

 

[Pom-DownUnder]

Lots of posters on this thread complaining that we can't travel. I share your pain.
However...
As someone working in health, with a family member living in London, it is important to realise just how lucky we really are...
London hospitals see record Covid patient numbers as Boris Johnson issues fresh stay home warning | Evening Standard
Had Australia simply taken the attitude that "we have to learn to live with this thing" the reality is that many of us would be in a far worse position than where we are currently. I know life sucks.
But you're a long time dead...

The recent topic I believe most prevalent is not "open the borders now and let everyone do everything they want" its "after either I'm vaccinated, let me travel, or after the populace is vaccinated, let everyone travel"

 

[dajop]

Lots of posters on this thread complaining that we can't travel. I share your pain.

Oh people can travel, just not international travel.

 

[jase05]

Que? Close contacts of cases are told to quarantine at home and many countries have it for incoming travellers. I've done it myself. There is boundless guidance - just google it - on how to work it, and various sorts of compliance mechanisms.

Unfortunately when we did have it earlier on in the pandemic too many people were flaunting the rules. No doubt home quarantine can work but needs to be far better monitoring and control over it with massive penalties for breaches

 

[milehighclub]

Unfortunately when we did have it earlier on in the pandemic too many people were flaunting the rules. No doubt home quarantine can work but needs to be far better monitoring and control over it with massive penalties for breaches

One of my last operating flights was before hotel quarantine was introduced but when home quarantine was mandatory. The number of passengers telling me their plans to get around home quarantine was alarming.

 

[Tiki]

Unfortunately when we did have it earlier on in the pandemic too many people were flaunting the rules. No doubt home quarantine can work but needs to be far better monitoring and control over it with massive penalties for breaches

Exactly! The early home quarantine didn't punish the rule breakers enough so they pushed the envelope with very few repurcussions. Up the ante! Make a fine of $20-30k for breaking the home quarantine. Loss of passport after x offenses (like demerit points). Erect a real-estate type sign on the property to ward off visitors. Give a reward to anyone who can provide proof of breaking the rules via mobile phone video of the quarantiner leaving the property or allowing visitors which would be paid by the rule-breaker. Give us ankle bracelets. I would be willing to have a padlock on my front gate and would not need to leave because I would have stocked the pantry and fridge before traveling.

Hotel quarantine at $3000 basically kills any chance of overseas travel for low income and pensioners. But even low income can amass enough miles and points from Woolies and Flybuys for free tickets overseas every year or 2 if you are clever about working email promos.

*** I don't mean start right now. But after everyone has been offered a vaccine is a reasonable target. Those who refuse the jab are on their own.

 

[zenyattamondatta]

Didn't they get the memo about transmission not mattering?

Standing next to Morrison and Health Minister Greg Hunt at Parliament House in Canberra, Department of Health secretary Brendan Murphy said it would probably take three months to work out if the vaccines can stop transmission of the virus, as well as preventing carriers becoming sick.

He referred to the process of gathering this information as a “Phase IV” medical trial – a real-life experiment of their effectiveness.

“Probably within three months we will have pretty good data on how effective the vaccines are at preventing transmission and that will give us the potential to re-evaluate things like international travel and hotel quarantine,” he said.

 

[N860CR]

Infections down over 20% over the last week in the USA. Both death and hospitalisation rate also down. Vaccine having an impact? Or the USA moving closer to a natural herd immunity?

 

[auriga]

Unfortunately when we did have it earlier on in the pandemic too many people were flaunting the rules. No doubt home quarantine can work but needs to be far better monitoring and control over it with massive penalties for breaches

Exactly. Singapore and Taiwan has home quarantine, for at least some travellers.

 

[Pushka]

Read in a UK report that the fact that people were receiving targeted effective treatment for Covid meant that people were staying in hospital longer but not dying, leading to the congestion of people in the hospital environment as new arrivals came in.

 

[ayushamity]

Infections down over 20% over the last week in the USA. Both death and hospitalisation rate also down. Vaccine having an impact? Or the USA moving closer to a natural herd immunity?

45% of Isreal have received the first Pfizer dose and 14% second dose. The 7 day average of new cases dropped from 8K/day to 6.5K/day in the last week

 

[33kft]

Infections down over 20% over the last week in the USA. Both death and hospitalisation rate also down

Surely every dip in the horrendous infection rate in the US does not itself represent the end of the spread, just the potential end of acceleration in numbers, assuming there aren't other factors in play such as apathy, testing fatigue and/or inability to sustain testing rates. They are seeing an average of 170K cases per day, this is not much of a victory.

 

[Pushka]

45% of Isreal have received the first Pfizer dose and 14% second dose. The 7 day average of new cases dropped from 8K/day to 6.5K/day in the last week

Israel has closed its airport currently.

 

[jakeseven7]

German media have article with sources claiming Oxford vaccine only 10% effective.... Let’s hope not!
AZ strongly denying.

 

[dajop]

45% of Isreal have received the first Pfizer dose and 14% second dose. The 7 day average of new cases dropped from 8K/day to 6.5K/day in the last week

Surely every dip in the horrendous infection rate in the US does not itself represent the end of the spread, just the potential end of acceleration in numbers, assuming there aren't other factors in play such as apathy, testing fatigue and/or inability to sustain testing rates. They are seeing an average of 170K cases per day, this is not much of a victory.

Israel has closed its airport currently.

Always the difficulty in drawing valid scientific conclusions is controlling for other variables that could influence the result.

For example during vaccination (whether it is US, Israel or other country), has there been change in any other control measures (lockdowns, restrictions on movements, mask wearing etc) implemented during the vaccine rollout as well that could influence infection results?

 

[PineappleSkip]

Furthermore, my overarching point is that if you quarantine at home, your family or those living with you must quarantine as well for two weeks. This is not feasible for many people.

That bald statement stil isn't the case everywhere. Generally, what I've seen is no requirement for other household members to quarantine. And of course many others don't require quarantine for incoming travellers at all.

Here's an example for you then

Thanks, no surprise that there are endlesss variations!

Here are some counterexamples where other household members are not required to self-isolate

Coronavirus (COVID-19): international travel

Scottish Government information on the international travel rules for Scotland.

www.gov.scot

Home Quarantine Information Home

AFAIK the Australian States and New Zealand also do not require other household members to quarantine, but they're coy about saying that, and have the same requirements for home quarantine for any reason (inlcuding inbound travellers with an exemption).

Unfortunately when we did have it earlier on in the pandemic too many people were flaunting the rules. No doubt home quarantine can work but needs to be far better monitoring and control over it with massive penalties for breaches

Agree, self isolation only lasted a week or so. Some countries that have enforced it with more robust measures. Other countries have backed away later (e.g. HK).

Cheers skip

 

[Port Power]

I thought the case is others in the household can come and go if you are quarantining at home (self isolating) but do NOT have COVID-1. Please try to use separate bathrooms, etc. But for someone who actually has the virus, the rest of the household must also quarantine. Surely otherwise the family members are just going to spread the virus such as happened in Melbourne?

 

[DC3]

I thought the case is others in the household can come and go if you are quarantining at home (self isolating) but do NOT have COVID-1. Please try to use separate bathrooms, etc. But for someone who actually has the virus, the rest of the household must also quarantine. Surely otherwise the family members are just going to spread the virus such as happened in Melbourne?

I would hope that all of the household members would stay at home, rather than mingle in the community. I’m not sure how anyone would confirm their COVID status, other than through testing.

 

[PineappleSkip]

I thought the case is others in the household can come and go if you are quarantining at home (self isolating) but do NOT have COVID-1. Please try to use separate bathrooms, etc. But for someone who actually has the virus, the rest of the household must also quarantine. Surely otherwise the family members are just going to spread the virus such as happened in Melbourne?

Right on both points, for Australia at least. Close contacts of an infected person have to isolate at home, and that's the bulk of the isolations I think. Not their family members. Of course, if the infected person is at home, the rest of the household are treated as close contacts and have to isolate.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Moral of the story travel on holidays with your family/household to avoid confusion lol