covid 19 Forriegn office advice

[macafee2]

covid 19 Forriegn office advice.
The FO advice is for UK tourists abroad to come home.

Looking at covid 19 cases, deaths and recovery Australia seems to be a safer place then the UK. Why pack a couple of hundred people on a plane for hours and transport them to a place where catching the infection seems more likely?

Does not seem to make sense to me. Can you explain the reason why it is a good idea?

macafee2

[wraymond]

Maybe testing arrangements will be made prior to take-off.

[clf]

Originally Posted by macafee2

covid 19 Forriegn office advice.
The FO advice is for UK tourists abroad to come home.

Looking at covid 19 cases, deaths and recovery Australia seems to be a safer place then the UK. Why pack a couple of hundred people on a plane for hours and transport them to a place where catching the infection seems more likely?

Does not seem to make sense to me. Can you explain the reason why it is a good idea?

macafee2

There would be a lot of factors to consider regarding this. Medical treatment for one. Travel insurance I am sure would give limited cover for travelers, adding the burden to the foreign office.

Then if a death was to occur abroad, repatriating the body would be a headache. The costs involved, which may not be covered by travel insurance, since it is likely the traveler would almost certainly be beyond their travel period. Again increasing the burden on the FO. Imagine if it was a family member of yours, to you, the FO would seem like they are doing nothing. They, as I understand it, are under no obligation to repatriate a body. (a local charity set up in the name of a young man who died in New York - if I recall - specialises in such instances. Kevin Bell Trust).

At least 'at home' all treatments and monitoring can be conducted under the eye of the FO and government medical personnel.

In an ideal world, persons abroad should be locked down where they are, but there are people who have enough money for a limited period of time, and then what? Not to mention the potential issues of having a foreigner to a local population, perhaps ignorant of the facts. (just look at the mistrust some people in the UK already have of oriental folk because of the ignorance - I have seen it called the chinese virus! Southampton)

Returning and locked in a quarantine situation would be the ideal method. Quite simply, a simple problem, abroad, could snowball out of control, and put the FO under strain it is neither equipped for or able to deal with.

As a side note, the parents of Kevin Bell who set up the trust, won a million pounds on the lottery , Quite deserving I think.

[macafee2]

Originally Posted by clf

There would be a lot of factors to consider regarding this. Medical treatment for one. Travel insurance I am sure would give limited cover for travelers, adding the burden to the foreign office.

Then if a death was to occur abroad, repatriating the body would be a headache. The costs involved, which may not be covered by travel insurance, since it is likely the traveler would almost certainly be beyond their travel period. Again increasing the burden on the FO. Imagine if it was a family member of yours, to you, the FO would seem like they are doing nothing. They, as I understand it, are under no obligation to repatriate a body. (a local charity set up in the name of a young man who died in New York - if I recall - specialises in such instances. Kevin Bell Trust).

At least 'at home' all treatments and monitoring can be conducted under the eye of the FO and government medical personnel.

In an ideal world, persons abroad should be locked down where they are, but there are people who have enough money for a limited period of time, and then what? Not to mention the potential issues of having a foreigner to a local population, perhaps ignorant of the facts. (just look at the mistrust some people in the UK already have of oriental folk because of the ignorance - I have seen it called the chinese virus! Southampton)

Returning and locked in a quarantine situation would be the ideal method. Quite simply, a simple problem, abroad, could snowball out of control, and put the FO under strain it is neither equipped for or able to deal with.

As a side note, the parents of Kevin Bell who set up the trust, won a million pounds on the lottery , Quite deserving I think.

My son is in Australia and was locked down for 14 days after returning from New Zealand. Does the cost of the death change due to cause? Death could occur after policy runs out for other incidents even if the incident happens during policy lifetime.
Are you suggesting the medical care in Australia is not good?
As long as Tourists are following the advice of the government of the country they are in they should not be causing a problem.

That attack in Southampton sickened me, mindless thugs

macafee2

[clf]

Originally Posted by macafee2

My son is in Australia and was locked down for 14 days after returning from New Zealand. Does the cost of the death change due to cause? Death could occur after policy runs out for other incidents even if the incident happens during policy lifetime.
Are you suggesting the medical care in Australia is not good?
As long as Tourists are following the advice of the government of the country they are in they should not be causing a problem.

That attack in Southampton sickened me, mindless thugs

macafee2

What I am.saying is that there will be tourists who do not have the resources that maybe you would, or would anticipate for, so the fall back is the govt. That is their responsibility, to a certain extent. They need to manage that responsibility, and to do that, the sensible advice would be to bring all home, and they can then be monitored.

The medical care as I understand it in Australia is excellent, however it is also for those who pay. In terms of insurance, your cover will likely (but not always) have lapsed by now, not to mention get out clauses they will have installed by now.

Add in local resentments 'why should that brit get our medical care' etc. It makes sense on a logistical and a community scale. Add into that, Australia's paranoia (justified) of their environment protection, they will want to contain themselves as much as possible.

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[Gate Keeper]

Originally Posted by macafee2

covid 19 Forriegn office advice.
The FO advice is for UK tourists abroad to come home.

Looking at covid 19 cases, deaths and recovery Australia seems to be a safer place then the UK. Why pack a couple of hundred people on a plane for hours and transport them to a place where catching the infection seems more likely?

Does not seem to make sense to me. Can you explain the reason why it is a good idea?

macafee2

In the link to the UK.gov and FO, https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-ad...turn-to-the-uk

Look down the page of UK.gov, as there is another link to the British High Commission for Australia. If your son hasn’t already done so, it will be worth it for him to get registered. The second link explains how to do this. Once registered your son will receive emails almost on a daily basis with the latest travel information for Australia about which airlines are flying back to the UK. Even if the airport is closed, special arrangements are often made to allow repatriation flights on special charters. Your son would be expected to cover his own costs. Perhaps your son is able to apply for a ticket refund.

In cases of financial hardship which is reviewed individually, the UK will loan the money to cover the costs. The repayment period is set by them.

Before boarding a return flight, a condition of flying, is to have a blood test for Covid-19. In Kenya this has to be completed within 72 hours of the flight with proof of a negative blood result being presented at check in. The cost here for a blood test is around £22.

You might know, I worked freelance in that industry. My last air ambulance flight, was to repatriate an elderly gentleman from a hospital in Austria back to the USA where he lived. He was on a coach tour of Europe and suffered a heart attack. His treatment was a quadruple heart bypass and ICU. It was from ICU that I collected him 5 days post op and flew him back to Grand Rapids via Chicago. A successful repatriation, but it was time limited due to travel insurance running out.

For people who are not covered by travel insurance, their families and friends/charity are expected to fund costs. The days of the British government bailing out Brits abroad were ended by Mrs Thatchers government.

Good luck!

[macafee2]

Originally Posted by Gate Keeper

In the link to the UK.gov and FO, https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-ad...turn-to-the-uk

Look down the page of UK.gov, as there is another link to the British High Commission for Australia. If your son hasn’t already done so, it will be worth it for him to get registered. The second link explains how to do this. Once registered your son will receive emails almost on a daily basis with the latest travel information for Australia about which airlines are flying back to the UK. Even if the airport is closed, special arrangements are often made to allow repatriation flights on special charters. Your son would be expected to cover his own costs. Perhaps your son is able to apply for a ticket refund.

In cases of financial hardship which is reviewed individually, the UK will loan the money to cover the costs. The repayment period is set by them.

Before boarding a return flight, a condition of flying, is to have a blood test for Covid-19. In Kenya this has to be completed within 72 hours of the flight with proof of a negative blood result being presented at check in. The cost here for a blood test is around £22.

You might know, I worked freelance in that industry. My last air ambulance flight, was to repatriate an elderly gentleman from a hospital in Austria back to the USA where he lived. He was on a coach tour of Europe and suffered a heart attack. His treatment was a quadruple heart bypass and ICU. It was from ICU that I collected him 5 days post op and flew him back to Grand Rapids via Chicago. A successful repatriation, but it was time limited due to travel insurance running out.

For people who are not covered by travel insurance, their families and friends/charity are expected to fund costs. The days of the British government bailing out Brits abroad were ended by Mrs Thatchers government.

Good luck!

thank you, thing is he does not want to come back. Coming back could jeopardise a second visit as he will not have done farm work this time.

I am trying to get me head around why FO suggests he comes home when there have been far less cases of covid 19 in Australia. Is this just blanket advice with no real thought of the covid 19 cases in a country or their health care? Is it Australia that wants him and other tourists out? That would make sense.

medi vac is expensive, I had an estimate some years ago for my daughter, £17,000 I think from India

macafee2

[Gate Keeper]

Originally Posted by macafee2

thank you, thing is he does not want to come back. Coming back could jeopardise a second visit as he will not have done farm work this time.

I am trying to get me head around why FO suggests he comes home when there have been far less cases of covid 19 in Australia. Is this just blanket advice with no real thought of the covid 19 cases in a country or their health care? Is it Australia that wants him and other tourists out? That would make sense.

medi vac is expensive, I had an estimate some years ago for my daughter, £17,000 I think from India

macafee2

Yes it’s blanket advice applicable to all countries. It’s the UK government telling its citizens to return. It’s not Australia wanting him out. If his visa to stay expires, he should be able to apply for an extension.

[Gate Keeper]

Originally Posted by macafee2

thank you, thing is he does not want to come back. Coming back could jeopardise a second visit as he will not have done farm work this time.

I am trying to get me head around why FO suggests he comes home when there have been far less cases of covid 19 in Australia. Is this just blanket advice with no real thought of the covid 19 cases in a country or their health care? Is it Australia that wants him and other tourists out? That would make sense.

medi vac is expensive, I had an estimate some years ago for my daughter, £17,000 I think from India

macafee2

Just a thought, did your son manage to take out travel insurance for his trip? To give you an idea as to the cost of worldwide travel insurance for 12 months and for someone my age with pre existing medical conditions, was £110 at last years renewal (for the USA, cover limited to length of stay).

[macafee2]

Originally Posted by Gate Keeper

Just a thought, did your son manage to take out travel insurance for his trip? To give you an idea as to the cost of worldwide travel insurance for 12 months and for someone my age with pre existing medical conditions, was £110 at last years renewal (for the USA, cover limited to length of stay).

yes he did, it expires in a couple of months.
As the FO advice is to come home they wont extend it if he decides to stay, if he cant leave, they will. If he cant get farm work in a couple of months he was/is planning to come home, if he can get farm work he wants to stay.
Farm work is a condition of a second visa.

macafee2