We’re looking forward to sun and cold beer!
COUPLE DON MASKS TO JET OFF TO FRANCE
A COLD beer in the French sunshine.
That’s what Allyson and Paul Lees are looking forward to when they arrive at their holiday home near Bordeaux after flying from Manchester Airport.
For many people, hopes of such a simple treat during a summer holiday this year were dashed when the lockdown came into force as a response to the coronavirus pandemic.
But as restrictions begin to ease, Manchester Airport has seen an increase in flights resuming and the reopening of Terminal 3.
The UK Foreign Office still advises against all but essential international travel.
But the government is preparing this week to introduce a new traffic light system, which would categorise which countries are safe to fly to.
It will determine whether or not people will have to self isolate for two weeks when they return to the UK.
Allyson and Paul’s Ryanair flight to France was one of a number of journeys scheduled to resume from T3. The couple, from Oldham, have a holiday home about 40 minutes north east of Bordeaux. “We went earlier in the year and came back just before the lockdown, thinking we would go back a week and a half later, and we are going to go now,” Paul says.
“Our family is here, we don’t live over there. We are really pleased it’s starting to get things moving again. We are not too bad, early this morning we were a bit apprehensive. The economy has to get going again as well as keeping people safe. We are looking forward to sun and cold beer.”
Allyson adds: “It is probably safer to go now than when people stop using masks and using hand sanitiser.”
David Guthrie, 55, from Cumbria, had a flight booked to Tanzania, via Amsterdam. He has a safari business out there, called A Tent With A View.
He plans to go for nine days and will quarantine when he gets back.
“I’ve got to show clients you can go.
I’m going to get some shots and videos. I can’t say there’s not some apprehension. The further away you get from it the bigger the gap, more nervous. My mum is panicking I’m going off, so is my wife, my daughter.
“Everybody has been locked down. The more they are locked down the less inclined they are to go back. Flying is supposed to be a holiday. It’s going to take some time to change (people’s attitudes).”
Sisters Eva, 18, and Jade Holley, 20, were flying to see their mum, who lives in France, as she is ill.
“We didn’t want to fly, it’s not good, it’s dangerous. It’s about quarantining when we get back that’s more the issue, but desperate times, isn’t it?” Jade says.
Diane Hill is dropping off her daughter Sophie at the airport. The 15-year-old is going to visit her dad in Hong Kong. “I’ve never been completely by myself before but I’m glad it won’t be too busy, with less people,” she said.
SCHOOLS in England have been told to keep children in class or year-sized “bubbles” and avoid creating “busy corridors” when all pupils return in September.
Government guidance on how to get all children back after the summer break following up to six months at home says older pupils should be encouraged to be kept away from other groups of students and staff.
The whole school, or all pupils in a year group, may have to self-isolate at home if schools have two or more confirmed coronavirus cases within a fortnight, the advice says.
But the guidance insists school closures “may not be necessary” if there are a number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 on site if schools implement the recommended controls.
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson announced the plans for getting all pupils back on the same day schools in Leicester closed as part of the city’s lockdown extension.
He also announced that limits on group sizes will be lifted in nurseries, childminders and early years providers in England from July 20 so more children can attend in the summer holidays.
Addressing the House of Commons, Mr Williamson said returning to normal educational routines was “critical” to the national recovery, as he reiterated that attendance in schools and colleges will be mandatory from September.
He told MPs that the Government will provide all schools and colleges with a small number of home testing kits by the start of the autumn term.
The official guidance says mobile units can be dispatched to schools to test anyone who has been in contact with the child, or member of staff, who has tested positive.
Testing will focus on the person’s class, followed by their year group, then the whole school if necessary, the advice says.
Schools have been told to avoid large gatherings, such as assemblies, and to avoid singing in larger groups, such as school choirs and ensembles.
Schools have also been advised to stagger break times, start and finish times, and to consider using “walking buses” to reduce the use of public transport.
Students starting secondary school in Year 7 in the autumn may need to be taught essential knowledge and skills from the primary school curriculum to address gaps in English and maths, the guidance says.
Meanwhile, schools in Leicester will be closed on Thursday and will not reopen until after the summer break.
A headteachers’ union has warned that it will be “enormously challenging” for schools to keep children apart in yeargroup-sized “bubbles” in September.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “The logistics of keeping apart many different ‘bubbles’ of children in a full school, including whole year groups, is mind-boggling.”