Giving travel advice in the uncertain age of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (11) ◽  
pp. 430-434
Author(s):  
Jacqueline Spinks ◽  
Kirishanthy Balachandiran ◽  
James Birdseye ◽  
Ceri Barker-Burnside ◽  
Kerry Cumiskey ◽  
...  

As restrictions ease and more people holiday overseas, the importance of providing accurate travel health advice increases. Jacqueline Spinks and colleagues provide an overview of current guidance The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a dramatic drop in people travelling to other countries for pleasure; however, now that restrictions across the UK are easing, more people are seeking a break and a long-awaited holiday overseas. Practice nurses are uniquely placed to provide travel advice not just in relation to COVID-19 requirements and restrictions, but also to remind travellers of the importance of being prepared for all other communicable diseases and travel-related hazards. This article aims to provide a summary of the latest and up to date information in England (links to guidance covering the Devolved Administrations of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are found in Box 1 ) and covers a summary of COVID-19, current guidance on travel during the pandemic, information about pre-planning for overseas travel, return from travel and information about being identified as a contact during travel, general travel advice; and ends with links to the most relevant guidance and information available.

2020 ◽  
Vol 31 (9) ◽  
pp. 369-373
Author(s):  
Mary Gawthrop

As individuals start planning travel abroad again, Mary Gawthrop explains the key considerations for travel health consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic While COVID-19 continues to be a risk worldwide, lockdown and international travel restrictions are being eased in many countries, including the UK. General practice nurses have a role to play in assisting UK residents to make an informed choice about travelling abroad during this pandemic.


Author(s):  
Tamaryn Menneer ◽  
Zening Qi ◽  
Timothy Taylor ◽  
Cheryl Paterson ◽  
Gengyang Tu ◽  
...  

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the UK Government provided public health advice to stay at home from 16 March 2020, followed by instruction to stay at home (full lockdown) from 24 March 2020. We use data with high temporal resolution from utility sensors installed in 280 homes across social housing in Cornwall, UK, to test for changes in domestic electricity, gas and water usage in response to government guidance. Gas usage increased by 20% following advice to stay at home, the week before full lockdown, although no difference was seen during full lockdown itself. During full lockdown, morning electricity usage shifted to later in the day, decreasing at 6 a.m. and increasing at midday. These changes in energy were echoed in water usage, with a 17% increase and a one-hour delay in peak morning usage. Changes were consistent with people getting up later, spending more time at home and washing more during full lockdown. Evidence for these changes was also observed in later lockdowns, but not between lockdowns. Our findings suggest more compliance with an enforced stay-at-home message than with advice. We discuss implications for socioeconomically disadvantaged households given the indication of inability to achieve increased energy needs during the pandemic.


2021 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 186-211
Author(s):  
Lesley-Ann Daniels ◽  
Alexander Kuo

Abstract Has the UK referendum to leave the EU (Brexit) affected territorial preferences within the UK? We draw on comparative theories of such preferences to address this question, as Brexit can be seen as a shock to a political unit. We test hypotheses in two key regions, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with original surveys fielded at a unique time (September 2019). We randomize making salient different Brexit scenarios and measure support for Scottish independence and unification with Ireland within each region. We find in Scotland the prospect of leaving the EU increases support for independence. This effect is pronounced among those who support the UK remaining in the EU. In Northern Ireland, religious background correlates highly with territorial views, and we find little evidence of Brexit or border-scenario effects. Our results contribute to the literature on decentralization processes and the EU, and provide evidence of when negative shocks affect such preferences.


2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-149
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Brunet-Jailly

This special issue of International Studies focuses on ‘how the British-exit is impacting the European Union’. This introduction is a review of the context, costs and institutional repercussions, as well as the very recent the UK/European Union trade deal and implications for customs borders. Eight articles then detail consequences for European Union policies and important trading relationships: Immigration, Citizenship, Gender, Northern Ireland, Trade and impacts on India, Canada and Japan.


Significance The differing perspectives of unionists and nationalists on the creation of Northern Ireland as a political entity within the United Kingdom, together with Brexit and tensions over the Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP), have brought the contentious issue of Irish reunification onto the political agenda in Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. Impacts Scottish independence would likely increase momentum for a referendum on Irish unity. Successful implementation of the NIP, giving firms access to EU and UK markets, may support arguments for maintaining the status quo. If the UK government abandons the NIP, the adverse trade impact on Northern Irish firms could increase support for unification.


Examines the startling revival of the Scottish Conservative Party under Ruth Davidson’s leadership: A very timely retrospective study of the Scottish Conservative Party's revival under Ruth Davidson's leadership (November 2011–August 2019). Analyses the Scottish Conservative Party under Ruth Davidson’s in the context of gender and LGBT politics; its relationships with the SNP, Northern Ireland, the Scottish media and the UK Tory Party; and its use of Scottish national identity. Helps inform Scottish political and academic discourse ahead of the 2021 Holyrood elections. When Ruth Davidson was elected leader of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party in 2011, it was considered something of a joke: in electoral decline for decades, politically irrelevant and seemingly past the point of no return. But by 2017, ‘Ruth Davidson’s Conservatives’ had become Scotland’s second party at Holyrood and Westminster, and its leader spoken of as a future leader of the UK Conservative Party, if not the next Scottish First Minister. Then, in August 2019, Ruth Davidson resigned.


Author(s):  
Trish Walsh ◽  
George Wilson ◽  
Erna O’Connor

Social work has been viewed as one of the most nation-specific of the professions, ‘being closely tied up with national traditions, mentalities and institutions’ (Kornbeck, 2004, p 146). In addition, the political imperatives of national governments, austerity measures and managerialism drive approaches to service delivery which may supersede social work’s professional priorities. This militates against an automatic or easy transfer of professional knowledge from one country to another. In spite of this, there has been an enduring interest in developing international forms of social work that transcend national borders (Gray and Fook, 2004; Lyons et al, 2012). In this chapter, we present a case study of social worker mobility as it has evolved from the establishment of the first national social work registration body in the Republic of Ireland in 1997 with a particular focus on data from 2004-13 capturing the years leading up to, and in the aftermath of, the global financial crisis of 2008. We contrast this with the situation in Northern Ireland (NI), part of the UK and a separate and distinct political and legal entity with its own policies and practices. We draw on statistical and descriptive data provided by Irish social work registration bodies (NSWQB 1997-2011; CORU established in 2011 and NISCC, the Northern Ireland Social Care Council established in 2001) to illustrate (i) how sensitive contemporary mobility patterns are to changing economic and political factors; (ii) how rapidly patterns of mobility change and (iii) how much more mired in complexity European social work mobility is likely to be if the European project itself fractures, as is possible following the Brexit referendum vote in the UK.


2017 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 377-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Coakley

This article explores the value of a specific model of norm replacement in accounting for the circumstances leading to Ireland’s Good Friday agreement (1998), which formally and finally settled the long-running territorial dispute between Ireland and the United Kingdom (UK). Drawing on the theoretical literature, it identifies three phases in this process. First, from the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922 until the civil unrest in Northern Ireland peaked in 1972 the irredentist norm was substantially unchallenged. It was embedded in the 1937 constitution, which defined the national territory as extending over the whole island of Ireland – including Northern Ireland, a part of the UK. The second phase, from about 1972 to 1998, was one of norm competition. The irredentist norm was severely challenged by new political realities in Northern Ireland, and was potentially destabilising for the state itself. It was increasingly challenged by an alternative ‘consent’ norm, one embracing in effect the geopolitical status quo. The third phase, from 1998 onwards, was one of consolidation of the new norm, now written into the Irish constitution to replace the wording of 1937. The article suggests that this model plays a valuable role in accounting for the changing status of the Irish border, but also that the Irish experience has implications for the broad shape of the model.


2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chris Hatton

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to compare data from national social care statistics on day services and home care for people with learning disabilities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Design/methodology/approach National social care statistics (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) reporting the number of adults with learning disabilities accessing day services and home care were reviewed, with data extracted on trends over time and rate of service use. Findings Regarding day services, despite some variations in definitions, the number of adults with learning disabilities in England, Scotland and Wales (but not Northern Ireland) using building-based day services decreased over time. Data from Scotland also indicate that adults with learning disabilities are spending less time in building-based day services, with alternative day opportunities not wholly compensating for the reduction in building-based day services. Regarding home care, there are broadly similar rates of usage across the four parts of the UK, with the number of adults with learning disabilities using home care now staying static or decreasing. Social implications Similar policy ambitions across the four parts of the UK have resulted (with the exception of Northern Ireland) in similar trends in access to day services and home care. Originality/value This paper is a first attempt to compare national social care statistics concerning day services and home care for adults with learning disabilities across the UK. With increasing divergence of health and social service systems, further comparative analyses of services for people with learning disabilities are needed.


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