FRANCE RESTRICTS ENTRIES FROM BRITAIN AS OMICRON VARIANT TAKES HOLD

France has significantly reduced entries from Britain as the new and more transmissible Omicron strain of Covid-19 continues its rapid advance.

Only those with an urgent need to do so will be able to enter or exit Britain, as of midnight on Saturday, French Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday. He noted that this did not include travel for work or tourism.

Under the new rules, people will have to register before travelling from Britain to France, take a PCR or rapid test and go into quarantine at a place of their choice after arriving in France, whether or not they are vaccinated. They will be able to exit from quarantine if they test negative for the virus after 48 hours.

Travellers will need a “compelling reason” to travel to or from the UK, though that does not apply to French nationals and their spouses and children, Castex said.

Castex announced controls had been set up to monitor compliance with the measures.

Anyone considering travel to Britain was urged to rethink their plans. French government spokesman Gabriel Attal earlier told BFM television that the rules were aimed at slowing down the arrival of Omicron cases in France and allowing the country’s booster campaign to advance. Amid questions over how the new policy will affect cross-Channel trade, British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said hauliers will be exempt.

“To confirm I have liaised with my French counterpart (Jean-Baptiste Djebbari) and hauliers will remain exempt,” he said in a tweet. PARIS (DPA), 16 DEC, 2021