France is to tighten entry conditions for people travelling from the United Kingdom in order to limit the spread of the Omicron variant, government spokesman Gabriel Attal announced on Thursday.
Tests already required to enter France from the UK will have to have been carried out within the previous 24 hours, instead of the current 48 hours.
The reasons for travel will be “limited to (French) residents and their families,” Attal said on BFMTV and RMC.
Travel for “tourism or business for people who are not residents in France will be limited,” he added.
People arriving in France from the UK will also need to self-isolate for seven days, in a place that travellers can choose, “with a check by the security forces”. However, quarantine can be “lifted after 48 hours” if a test carried out upon arrival in France is negative.
The spokesman added that people will need to register via an app that will generate an isolation order from the prefecture.
More details are expected to be given later on Thursday.
The announcement comes the day after the UK registered 78,610 daily COVID-19 cases — the highest number since the beginning of the pandemic as the highly transmissible new Omicron variant spreads.
