Overseas holidays - will you be taking one?

I'm flying to Portugal next week, although the air bridge hokey cokey means I'm apparently now mad to consider it. The more data that becomes available, the less concerned I get.

I lost my business and job a few weeks ago thanks to the economic havoc created by our government's overreaction to Covid. I'm not going to lose my holiday too.

Given the govt have demonstrated time and time again that we have no plan and the introduction of covid marshals demonstrates that we can't trust ourselves. Normality is a long way off.

I booked a fortnight in Buenos Aires over Christmas and am still plannig on going. Currently Argentina is not permitting visitors which is my measure, if they let me, I go. If not, I'll deal with it. If this clusterfcuk quarantine me, so be it. I'll be working from home anyway.

It's appalling the way that they are turning on and off the taps of which countries are safe or not, especially given how disgracefully this country has dealt with the pandemic and number of deaths and infection rates we have. So I feel for anyone who's being jerked around.

I guess it is out of my hands..

Que sera, sera!

My two cents: it's about balance. Obviously the virus is very harmful, but so to is poverty, unemployment, mental illness etc. When politicians talk about "the economy" it's very easy to dimiss it as greedy capitalists not caring about people's lives, but (for better or worse) people's lives are in fact affected by the economy. 

I think we have to have some trust in the government, and the citizen must simply follow the rules. If going in holiday is permitted, then the government (of both this country and your destination) have decided that the benefits outweigh the risks - provided whatever safety restrictions are in place are adhered to.

There's also a personal element - are you in a particularly vulnerable group, and/or regularly interact with people who are? If you were required to quarantine for two weeks when you got home, how big of a problem would it be?

Personally, I've booked a week of work in October, but haven't booked a holiday yet. We will be considering the situation nearer the time and are currently thinking we will try to go abroad for some warmer weather, but this may change.

Yes, do it. Just follow the rules where you plan to go. Take a train - the alps are a day away by train for example. 

I also have a werewife of a similar disposition and sunny holidays were canned - one in March which was cut so fine we had to be careful to make sure that it was a cancellation rather than a no-show.  Summer also canned - flights cancelled in the end, with brought everythng else tumbling down  So, we waited a bit, bought a Channel tunnel ticket, pumped the dog full of rabies vaccine and headed to France in car with a bicycle on the roof.  Two weeks of wall-to-wall sunshine - werewife and weredaughter sated and cycling rat fed.  Dog not to keen on the heat - seeks out quarry-tiled floors.  Worst case we reckoned barbecuing every day for two weeks, with a closure of the tunnel an outside possibility, and quarantine a manageable consequence.  The oether Euro-tourusts have arrived this week generally.  Last week was very quiet in comparison

MrsD is a sun holiday desperado, if she doesn't have a holiday planned at least a year in advance she's unbearable.. over the past few years I've 'enabled' her addition to these kind of things by generally nodding and agreeing to mostly anything she says... it is easier that way. 

When this COVID thing became a reality for most of us, our long planned summer holiday was inevitably cancelled, it was at this time I realised I was married to an addict. Within days of the dawning of this realisation she wouldn't be seeing the sea or getting drunk on sun she turned into a werewife.

When the rumours of an 'air-bridge' to certain countries started to filter out, MrsD was back in business, within a day of the announcement we'd booked two flights to two different destinations within a month of each other! Both to Spanish isles, which are now kyboshed.

She's determined to get outta Blighty one way or another, and akin to a force of nature, I'm sure she'll make it. If anyone sees a brightly coloured inflatable doughnut heading south across the channel, give her a wave!

Last week, however, I, with offspring, went to Wales armed with little more than our bikes and a new frisbee, to visit the mothership for a few days, we got rained on somewhat and it was generally too windy to use the frisbee. Raining seems to happen on every British holiday I've ever had, I do see the appeal of somewhere dry and sunny. You should book somewhere...

nope. 

no indoor pub, cinema or gym. Minimal shopping. 

Because you can only keep people locked down for so long; rishi can't afford the wage bill; airlines are kicking off;  rishi needs tax income; we need tourists and because we are all brainwashed left wingers so Johnson's Dad can go on holiday can make an important, vital inspection of his property.

Being on a plane is low risk due to the industrial strength filters and the rapid injection of new air, the way air circulates vertically (if you are in row 1 you can't get infected by row 20). Nothing can be done about people coughing over you or hand to mouth transfer.