Hoping to travel out to Cyprus on the 29 August.
Would appreciate any advice as to the best way to get tested within the 72 hour window Cyprus requires.
Has anyone used the NHS or is private testing the right way to go.
Thanks Tom
Covid 19 test
Re: Covid 19 test
Tomd
I have friends who are flying out 07.00 tomorrow morning, they had a nhs COVID test done on Friday at 11.00, results came back within 24 hours.
Hope this helps
I have friends who are flying out 07.00 tomorrow morning, they had a nhs COVID test done on Friday at 11.00, results came back within 24 hours.
Hope this helps
Re: Covid 19 test
Yes use the NHS one, have a look at the Cyprus trip advisor forum for lots of advice on this, it seems lots of people are doing that.
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Anarita John
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Re: Covid 19 test
Friend of ours had a medical appointment. Only saw one person, the nurse who was treating him. Four days later had a phone call telling him he must isolate for 14 days and go for a covid test, as the nurse had treated a covid person earlier in the day. Could not get a covid test in Oldham, where he lived and had to travel to the Etihad stadium in Manchester to be tested and cold not get a test for 3 days. Why, because of the number of people getting NHS tests to go on holiday.
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PhotoLady
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Re: Covid 19 test
Oldham to the Etihad isn't that far away - around 20 minutes by road. It's closer than where I would have to go should I need to get tested.
And no, people should not be getting tests for travel through the NHS. This is Cyprus' fault for saying they will now accept results by text or email as long as it shows the date and time of the test....
And no, people should not be getting tests for travel through the NHS. This is Cyprus' fault for saying they will now accept results by text or email as long as it shows the date and time of the test....
"Have Camera, Will Travel"
Re: Covid 19 test
But what choice do travellers have to save money or potentially loose cost of a holiday?
Re: Covid 19 test
The blame rests with the UK as clinics for testing travelers should be provided legitimately at reasonable cost.
Cyprus is not responsible for the UK's actions, but it wants to protect its own population from importing active cases of the virus. Other countries seem to be able to offer these tests to their travelers.
Dee
Cyprus is not responsible for the UK's actions, but it wants to protect its own population from importing active cases of the virus. Other countries seem to be able to offer these tests to their travelers.
Dee
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PhotoLady
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Re: Covid 19 test
But unlike Cyprus, UK doesn't have a private clinic on every corner! We have no need because we have our NHS.
You can't set foot in a clinic or GPs surgery these days without an appointment made 3 weeks in advance and most places want to do telephone appointments, video conference Skype etc or you are asked to send photos by email of what the problem is.
It should have been discussed between the countries on how the process would work before opening up flights with special test requirements.
Allow the NHS by all means - but there should be a cost payable online in advance when booking an appointment.
There are no options to even request a test for travel on the NHS website, which means people are being encouraged to tell untruths or avoid answering the question at a specific point.
You can't set foot in a clinic or GPs surgery these days without an appointment made 3 weeks in advance and most places want to do telephone appointments, video conference Skype etc or you are asked to send photos by email of what the problem is.
It should have been discussed between the countries on how the process would work before opening up flights with special test requirements.
Allow the NHS by all means - but there should be a cost payable online in advance when booking an appointment.
There are no options to even request a test for travel on the NHS website, which means people are being encouraged to tell untruths or avoid answering the question at a specific point.
"Have Camera, Will Travel"
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Anarita John
- Posts: 979
- Joined: Thu Dec 29, 2016 8:18 pm
- Location: Formally Rochdale, Penrhyn Bay and Anarita
Re: Covid 19 test
Agree totally Photolady. Another friend paid 250 pounds for a test at a clinic in Manchester so that he could return to work in Kuwait. Far too expensive for a family of four wishing to visit their villa in Paphos. Government should have put a travelling abroad option on the NHS booking site and charged a nominal fee for the test, with a little warning perhaps that if you give false info, you will be liable for prosecution. It looks as if testing will become the norm for the foreseeable future. A cruise ship has just set sail, and all passengers and crew were COVID tested.
I know it is only a few miles to the Etihad Stadium from Oldham, but this involved an elderly man.
I know it is only a few miles to the Etihad Stadium from Oldham, but this involved an elderly man.
Re: Covid 19 test
Your suggestion is good, John. A fee should be payable for a test in the UK, then these tests for travellers would be available legally. If the NHS can't or wont provide such a service, then Govt should be able to set a max cost for a covid test done at private facilities.
Its obvious that as other countries are able to provide Covid testing for their holiday makers the UK must do the same. Its quite unreasonable for UK tourists to go abroad at present without being tested neg first. As doing this is likely to facilitate the spread of the virus in the host country being visited.
A look at a travel website as provided by UK.Gov, travel advice, shows that many other countries are now adopting the same requirement for all visitors .Some like Singapore, NewZealand and Australia and others are closed to all visitors.
Dee
Its obvious that as other countries are able to provide Covid testing for their holiday makers the UK must do the same. Its quite unreasonable for UK tourists to go abroad at present without being tested neg first. As doing this is likely to facilitate the spread of the virus in the host country being visited.
A look at a travel website as provided by UK.Gov, travel advice, shows that many other countries are now adopting the same requirement for all visitors .Some like Singapore, NewZealand and Australia and others are closed to all visitors.
Dee
Re: Covid 19 test
If you can afford a holiday abroad, you should be able to pay for your test, if not, don't go, it's not rocket science. Why should the over stretched NHS pay for my holiday.
Jackie
Jackie
It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.
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PhotoLady
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Re: Covid 19 test
Jackie, many people book up to a year in advance for their holiday, paying it off in dribs and drabs so their spend budget per month is covered by small payments.
Then, they're suddenly hit with a cost of up to £500 for a family of 2 adults and 2 teenagers!
Dee, not all destinations are asking for pre-testing for UK passengers. Why do you think they're all heading off to Greece and Turkey now the FCO have ruled out travel to Spain and her islands?
Hundreds are suddenly going and booking without knowing anything about Greece or Turkey because they've only ever gone to Spain.
If they can use NHS testing, they will soon all be coming to Cyprus too. They can still get inflected during the 72hrs after testing!
Then, they're suddenly hit with a cost of up to £500 for a family of 2 adults and 2 teenagers!
Dee, not all destinations are asking for pre-testing for UK passengers. Why do you think they're all heading off to Greece and Turkey now the FCO have ruled out travel to Spain and her islands?
Hundreds are suddenly going and booking without knowing anything about Greece or Turkey because they've only ever gone to Spain.
If they can use NHS testing, they will soon all be coming to Cyprus too. They can still get inflected during the 72hrs after testing!
"Have Camera, Will Travel"
Re: Covid 19 test
I live in York, the nearest or quickest in travel time for me to get a test is in London, I do not mind paying for the test but I am not too happy about a day trip to London to get one, why can't we get one on departure at the airport, the reverse of what they have in Cyprus?
Re: Covid 19 test
WHL
I don't think that I can walk into an NHS testing facility 72 hrs before I fly, and insist that I have the certified test results within that time frame.
If however they did offer it to people about to go abroad on holiday and made a charge, it would then be a win win situation for us all. As it is they don't, so we will have to find other options.
Jules
Yes unfortunate for any family suddenly faced with a huge bill, but we have been aware of this virus since February, plenty of time for people to cancel any holidays booked, or move to alternative dates.
Jackie
I don't think that I can walk into an NHS testing facility 72 hrs before I fly, and insist that I have the certified test results within that time frame.
If however they did offer it to people about to go abroad on holiday and made a charge, it would then be a win win situation for us all. As it is they don't, so we will have to find other options.
Jules
Yes unfortunate for any family suddenly faced with a huge bill, but we have been aware of this virus since February, plenty of time for people to cancel any holidays booked, or move to alternative dates.
Jackie
It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.
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Princebytor
- Posts: 190
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- Location: Sheffield & Ha Potima
Re: Covid 19 test
The truth is that the tests cost the NHS about £6 each and with the significant over capacity within the testing infrastructure the Clinical Commissioning Groups are keen to have as many people as possible taking the test...............they just can't be seen to be encouraging people to take a test to go abroad.
Re: Covid 19 test
Photo Lady, I'm well aware of the fact that Greece and Turkey aren't asking for covid tests done before arrival. August will be over in just over 2 weeks and should the School term start in the UK next month, families with school age children won't be taking holidays.
Dee
Dee
Re: Covid 19 test
Photo Lady, I'm well aware of the fact that Greece and Turkey aren't asking for covid tests done before arrival. August will be over in just over 2 weeks and should the School term start in the UK next month, families with school age children won't be taking holidays.
Dee
Dee
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PhotoLady
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Re: Covid 19 test
There are many people with non-school age kids and big kids who are not going back to school but don't have a job yet because Covid has stopped recruitment.
Many passengers are facing up to 90% or 100% cancellation fees if they decide they want to change the destination within the last 28 - 14 days because their chosen one suddenly looks like it's about to go tits up, when all along it's been ticking along just fine.
The only other option is they have to hang on and hope the tour operator will cancel to be able to get their money refunded - or face the fact they may be going somewhere they no longer really want to travel to but have no alternative option except throw their money away.
It's all very well for some people to sit in an ivory tower feeling high and mighty about it all because they're not directly affected by what's happening with airline travel in the world around them. People still want and need to be able to take a break and if that involves a couple of weeks in the sunshine somewhere, they're entitled to do so as long as the UK FCO says it's okay for them to travel.
It isn't for anyone else to tell them what they should have done....
As yet, we don't have a blanket ban on people living in the UK from leaving the country!
This just in:
easyJet is to axe all of its international flights from Newcastle Airport after confirming the closure of its North East base.
The budget airline is also closing its operations at London Stansted and Southend from September 1, putting 670 roles at risk of redundancy.
the budget airline has decided to scrap all of its international flights from the region, including to popular holiday destinations such as Malaga and Alicante, as part of its restructure.
This will come into effect from September with the only exception seeing services to and from Nice continuing until the end of October.
Many passengers are facing up to 90% or 100% cancellation fees if they decide they want to change the destination within the last 28 - 14 days because their chosen one suddenly looks like it's about to go tits up, when all along it's been ticking along just fine.
The only other option is they have to hang on and hope the tour operator will cancel to be able to get their money refunded - or face the fact they may be going somewhere they no longer really want to travel to but have no alternative option except throw their money away.
It's all very well for some people to sit in an ivory tower feeling high and mighty about it all because they're not directly affected by what's happening with airline travel in the world around them. People still want and need to be able to take a break and if that involves a couple of weeks in the sunshine somewhere, they're entitled to do so as long as the UK FCO says it's okay for them to travel.
It isn't for anyone else to tell them what they should have done....
As yet, we don't have a blanket ban on people living in the UK from leaving the country!
This just in:
easyJet is to axe all of its international flights from Newcastle Airport after confirming the closure of its North East base.
The budget airline is also closing its operations at London Stansted and Southend from September 1, putting 670 roles at risk of redundancy.
the budget airline has decided to scrap all of its international flights from the region, including to popular holiday destinations such as Malaga and Alicante, as part of its restructure.
This will come into effect from September with the only exception seeing services to and from Nice continuing until the end of October.
"Have Camera, Will Travel"
