[LM24] Le Mans 2021 21/22 August - Who Is Going?

[Gerard C]

Originally Posted by crmalcolm

Is the app receiving favourable feedback?

Dont think so. You have "pass sanitaire activités" and "pass sanitaire frontieres" both for French travelling abroad. Drop dead, not useful for you.

As stated by bella, the new ap is TousAntiCovid for Android but it works in France only. When you've landed, you can download and use it (for example https://www.clubic.com/telecharger-f...stopcovid.html).

I found this for you in a proper language… https://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/en/co...als-in-france/
Many FAQ's could help.

A new EU sanitary pass should be issued on 1st July, few days to go.Dont forget everything is subject to change depending on the local epidemic situation or place of origin.

[Kpy]

Originally Posted by whitemr2

https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/info/health-protocole

It says this about foreigners attending:

What about foreign health certificates?

The rules on foreign health certificates will be confirmed in July. Presently, we recommend you arrange a PCR or antigen test in France with the results available no more than 48 hours before your arrival at the circuit.

Let's hope this foreign certificate will be available. My plan for attending has no time window to get a test in France.

The EU Covid-19 Passport (so-called health pass) is due to be launched on 1st July
The Netherlands is one of the few EU contries which are technically ready to issue a Covid pass, but have yet to start issuing one.

See:https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/new...u-need-to-know

Hopefully the Netherlands will start issuing their Covid Passports in July and if you have one you'll have no problem getting into the circuit.

The situation is different for UK citizens and depends on reciprocal recognition of similar Covid passports between the UK and EU. If that doesn't happen then Brits will need to be tested in France. From experience I can tell you that if you're tested in the morning the results are available on line that same evening. Problem is that a certificate issued on 17 August will only be valid for circuit entry on 18 and 19th, so you will need at least two tests for entry on all dates in race week. Fingers crossed for RU recognition of the UK certificate and app.

[Gerard C]

More info here:
https://uk.ambafrance.org/A-compter-...des-frontieres
https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-ad...uk-from-9-june
If you intend to come via the tunnel, mind you atm "Il n'y a pas d'installation de test COVID-19 sur le site d'Eurotunnel". Admitted vaccines in France are Pfizer, Moderna, AZ and J&J, following the EMA official list (Agence Européenne du Médicament).

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by Kpy

Fingers crossed for RU recognition of the UK certificate and app.

Definitely. Sounds as though it could get awkward and expensive otherwise Christopher. Do you know how much the tests will cost and where testing can be booked locally to Le Mans?

[Kpy]

Originally Posted by Gerard C

Dont think so. You have "pass sanitaire activités" and "pass sanitaire frontieres" both for French travelling abroad. Drop dead, not useful for you.

As stated by bella, the new ap is TousAntiCovid for Android but it works in France only. When you've landed, you can download and use it (for example https://www.clubic.com/telecharger-f...stopcovid.html).

Yes, but the vaccination or test information uploaded to the TousAntiCovid app is valid throughout the EU.
The NHS COVID Pass https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/corona...19/covid-pass/ is not currently valid in the EU

[bella]

the nhs certificate is accepted as proof of vaccination by france. 99% sure on that one. particularly for border matters.

[Kpy]

Originally Posted by Aysedasi

Definitely. Sounds as though it could get awkward and expensive otherwise Christopher. Do you know how much the tests will cost and where testing can be booked locally to Le Mans?

Some good news. Tests are free in France even for foreign tourists:
https://www.ouest-france.fr/sante/vi...et-ete-7263013

In practice use the doctolib website. Here's the link:
https://www.ouest-france.fr/sante/vi...et-ete-7263013

[Kpy]

Originally Posted by bella

the nhs certificate is accepted as proof of vaccination by france. 99% sure on that one.

I don't think so.
Can you produce proof?
If so I'll retract my advice, but the UK government advice is:

"You can show your NHS COVID Pass as proof of your COVID-19 status when travelling abroad.
It is likely that in addition to your NHS COVID Pass you will need to follow additional rules when travelling abroad. For example, you may still be required to:

show other proof like a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result

isolate on arrival"
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/demonstr...can-use-it-for

[bella]

Originally Posted by Kpy

I don't think so.
Can you produce proof?
If so I'll retract my advice, but the UK government advice is:

"You can show your NHS COVID Pass as proof of your COVID-19 status when travelling abroad.
It is likely that in addition to your NHS COVID Pass you will need to follow additional rules when travelling abroad. For example, you may still be required to:

show other proof like a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test result

isolate on arrival"
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/demonstr...can-use-it-for

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-ad...y-requirements

scroll down to vaccination status

the only remaining messy bit for uk citizens is whether that certificate will be accepted by the pass sanitaire. the uk, i believe, is making arrangements with individual countries. the eu guidance is something that member states don’t have to abide by, it’s a recommendation.

[Kpy]

Originally Posted by bella

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-ad...y-requirements

scroll down to vaccination status

the only remaining messy bit for uk citizens is whether that certificate will be accepted by the pass sanitaire. the uk, i believe, is making arrangements with individual countries. the eu guidance is something that member states don’t have to abide by, it’s a recommendation.

Attachment 69181

We need to look at two separate situations, entry to the country and entry to events.

For entry to France UK is currently on France's Orange List.
Current French regulations are:

Pour les pays en orange, un test PCR de moins de 72 heures ou un test antigénique de moins de 48 heures sera demandé aux personnes vaccinées pour venir en France. Les personnes non-vaccinées devront quant ?* elle justifier d'un motif impérieux dont la liste est disponible sur le site du Gouvernement (cf ci-dessous).

Elles devront également présenter un test PCR de moins de 48 heures et pourront être soumises ?* un test antigénique aléatoire ?* l'arrivée. Une quarantaine de 7 jours devra aussi être respectée.

translated:

"For countries on the orange list, a PCR test less than 72 hours old or an antigenic test less than 48 hours old will be required for vaccinated persons to come to France. Non-vaccinated persons must justify a compelling reason, the list of which is available on the government website (see below).

They must also present a PCR test less than 48 hours old and may be subject to a random antigen test upon arrival. A 7-day quarantine must also be observed."

So a UK vaccination certificate will allow you into France, subject to a negative PCR antigenetic test taken within the stated time limit.
It doesn't entitle you to a health pass allowing entry to events (incuding the LM 24 hours) without futher evidence of negative test results.

[Aysedasi]

Originally Posted by bella

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-ad...y-requirements

scroll down to vaccination status

the only remaining messy bit for uk citizens is whether that certificate will be accepted by the pass sanitaire. the uk, i believe, is making arrangements with individual countries. the eu guidance is something that member states don’t have to abide by, it’s a recommendation.

Attachment 69181

As a matter of interest, what is this 'NHS letter' that the advice refers to? I have the app but I've not received any letter.

[bella]

i think the letter refers to the pdf or paper version you can download or email to yourself from the app - go into the travel bit, look at your status and the option is there

[bella]

Originally Posted by Kpy

So a UK vaccination certificate will allow you into France, subject to a negative PCR antigenetic test taken within the stated time limit.
It doesn't entitle you to a health pass allowing entry to events (incuding the LM 24 hours) without futher evidence of negative test results.

exactly. i ignore the pcr requirement to fly/catch a ferry - that’s a blanket thing, and assumed.

i suspect that there will be a workaround for the pass sanitaire for events sooner or later. don’t know why, just a hunch.

[Kpy]

Originally Posted by bella

exactly. i ignore the pcr requirement to fly/catch a ferry - that’s a blanket thing, and assumed.

i suspect that there will be a workaround for the pass sanitaire for events sooner or later. don’t know why, just a hunch.

I think we're in agreement Bella.

My hunch is that there will be a workaround for the pass sanitaire - just reciprocal recognition of certificates - but it will need some work by our governments, otherwise there are going to be some post-Brexit hoops to be jumped through by Brits for entry to the circuit and other events in the EU this year.

I can feel smug with my French pass sanitaire.

[bella]

i’m envious! i think we’ve been too slow in hosting test events and developing our version of the pass sanitaire concept. i’m glad we have a secure and safe way of proving vaccination status but it’s frustrating that these agreements are happening too slowly.

[Gerard C]

Frustrating it is but the need of tourists will give a good kick in all sort of agreements between our govs', hope we'll know more and have good news on 1st of July. Again if you're not fully vaccinated dont expect to go abroad with no hassle.

[whitemr2]

Originally Posted by Kpy

The EU Covid-19 Passport (so-called health pass) is due to be launched on 1st July
The Netherlands is one of the few EU contries which are technically ready to issue a Covid pass, but have yet to start issuing one.

See:https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/new...u-need-to-know

Hopefully the Netherlands will start issuing their Covid Passports in July and if you have one you'll have no problem getting into the circuit.

Thank you for this, I just dug a little deeper and found out all EU countries have 6 weeks after 1 st of July to make there different systems work together. So indeed all EU citizens should be good to go.

[Kpy]

Originally Posted by whitemr2

Thank you for this, I just dug a little deeper and found out all EU countries have 6 weeks after 1 st of July to make there different systems work together. So indeed all EU citizens should be good to go.

That's right, it's in that article I posted earlier:
https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/new...u-need-to-know

As 18 member states already have Covid passports ready to go or already running, that only leaves nine countries, including the Netherlands, to get theirs
up and running by mid-August. So good luck and fingers crossed, but I'm sure you won't have to change your schedule.

[Bentley03]

Just when things were looking 'possible', France is now under extreme pressure from Germany to make quarantine mandatory for people arriving from the UK, regardless of vaccination status, to help stop the spread of the Delta variant.

[bella]

that smells extremely political doesn't it? just after the eu lost a court case against AZ? come off it germany.

for once france are being pragmatic and taking vaccination into account - as per the whole point of vaccination - and the germans are still over-compensating.

[Kpy]

Originally Posted by bella

that smells extremely political doesn't it? just after the eu lost a court case against AZ? come off it germany.

for once france are being pragmatic and taking vaccination into account - as per the whole point of vaccination - and the germans are still over-compensating.

I don't think Ms Merkel, well known for her pragmatism is following some sort of revenge agenda against AstraZeneca.

The answer lies in the figures.
If we look at the daily new cases of Covid-19 over the last couple of months using a 7 day rolling average to rule out daily spikes:

April 16:
Germany 20,405
France 38,890
UK 2,547

May 15:
Germany 10,946
France 12,854
UK 2,216

June 23:
Germany 813
France 2,097
UK 11,354

New cases in the UK are increasing at an alarming rate, apparently due to the delta variant, whilst here across the channel they are declining quite fast, with the delta variant a rarity.
In France there is some pressure already to put the UK on the red list, rather than the amber where it is now, and you can see why from those figures.

[bella]

Originally Posted by Kpy

New cases in the UK are increasing at an alarming rate, apparently due to the delta variant, whilst here across the channel they are declining quite fast, with the delta variant a rarity.
In France there is some pressure already to put the UK on the red list, rather than the amber where it is now, and you can see why from those figures.

there's zero reason to restrict travel and impose quarantine for fully vaccinated people beyond political motives. especially when we still are required to do a pcr/fit to fly test before entering a country.

as well as a majority of adults now having at least one dose of vaccine, the uk actually now has (and still has, unlike many countries) a robust testing system that's easily accessed and heavy on self testing with lateral flow devices. it's recommended we do 2 lateral flow tests a week. cases are now almost entirely in young, healthy or unvaccinated people. we also pick up many, if not most of cases because testing is proactive, readily available and easy to access.

in the uk you're not talking about one or two vaccinated people in a room of 10, it's 6 or 7 vaccinated people in a room of 10. as such we've fully moved towards a different metric for judging the seriousness of an outbreak - hospital admissions and occupancy. that germany is so fixated on case numbers is more of a reflection on where they are rather than where other countries are.

this is why it's daft to impose blanket rules across europe. the situation in the uk is very different to the one in france, let alone germany. if france is happy with judging entry based on vaccination status plus a pcr then good for them - welcome to 2021.

for interest, ms merkel recently had her second vaccine dose. her first was oxford/az. her second was moderna. two different types of vaccine, let alone makes. she's in the safe demographic for viral vector side effects. *everything* is political

[Aysedasi]

And when we beat Germany next week, Ms Merkel will redouble her efforts.....

[bella]

i can't wait

in all seriousness i'm not advocating for the eu to be letting people in from the uk for holidays left right and centre. but work needs to continue to happen.

mandatory quarantine makes international motorsport very difficult, let's put it that way. no team can reasonably take a hit for 5-7 days extra of hotel rooms plus staff rates for every event.

[Kpy]

I would have thought that if the policy were to be politically driven, the doors would be wide open to tourists everywhere. They spend money and boost the economy. I can't think of a political reason for keeping barriers up and business down.

Currently, for travellers from UK to France, everything depends on your vaccine status – if you’re fully vaccinated (two weeks after your second jab or four weeks after if you had the single-dose Johnson & Johnson) then you can travel to France for any reason, including tourism.

You do still need a negative Covid test (a PCR test from the previous 72 hours or an antigen test taken within 48 hours) but you don’t need to quarantine.

If you’re going to the UK, your vaccine status is irrelevant - All travellers from orange list countries such as France must present a negative Covid test on arrival (PCR test or antigen test) and must then pay for one of the compulsory travel testing kits to use while there – these are expensive, costing from around £160 up to £300 depending on the provider.

Travellers also have to quarantine for 10 days on arrival, although this can be done at home or with family or friends. There is an option to pay an extra £150 to end the quarantine on day 5, after a negative Covid test.

You are seeing the effects of politically driven Covid policy in the UK right now, with the delta variant causing 90% of new cases. Boris Johnson delayed putting India on the redlist for three wreeks after Pakistan and Bangladesh were red listed bcause he was planning a trade visit to India. 20,000 people travelled from India to the UK in those three weeks.
The UK Vaccination programme was and is admirable, but the fact is that the UK is currently suffering a new wave of Covid-19 infections, despite the vaccination programme with 16,135 new cases on 23 June against 1,136 in Germany and 2,320 in France. While that situation lasts it's hard for countries to lower their guard. EU leaders are meeting in Brussels today to dicuss this situation, we shall see what comes of it.