France is preparing to impose new restrictions on travelers from four countries to try to avoid more infectious COVID-19 variants.
The Associated Press reports that France will impose new entry restrictions on those arriving from Argentina, Chile, South Africa and Brazil.
Entry from these countries will be limited to French citizens and their relatives, citizens of the European Union and other persons who have a permanent residence in France. Those who enter will be subject to a mandatory 10-day quarantine with police checks to ensure compliance.
Passengers must also demonstrate a negative PCR test performed within 36 hours of boarding the flight or a negative antigen test performed less than 24 hours prior to the flight.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Sunday that the number of countries on that list could grow, according to the AP.
Le Drian said on Saturday that the four countries “are the most dangerous in terms of the number of variants that exist and the evolution of the pandemic in those countries.”
France has confirmed more than 100,000 coronavirus deaths, according to the PA, among the European countries hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The PA notes that the COVID-19 variant first identified in the UK now accounts for 80 per cent of cases in France, while variants believed to have originated in Brazil and South Africa account for approximately 4 per cent. one hundred.
French President Emmanuel Macron
Emmanuel Jean-Michel Macron Sunday shows preview: Russia and US sanctions to trade; tensions over the police increase; continues the vaccination campaign The Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Tax March – Biden Putin: harsh sanctions, direct conversation with Zelensky to meet with France and Germany on Russia’s tensions MORE said Sunday that some travel restrictions, especially for vaccinated people, would begin to lift from May, possibly allowing for a tourist season.
“We will gradually lift the restrictions in early May, which means we will organize in the summer with our professionals in France for European French citizens, but also for American citizens,” Macron told Face the Nation “on CBS. “So we’re working hard to come up with a very concrete solution, especially for U.S. citizens who are vaccinated, so I’d say with a special pass.”