France to impose new quarantine measures on UK visitors amid concern over Indian variant
27 May 2021, 07:24 | Updated: 27 May 2021, 08:53
France is set to force UK visitors to quarantine in a bid to stop the Indian coronavirus variant from spreading there.
French government spokesman Gabriel Attal did not say when it would be introduced but said it would be similar to the measures taken by Germany.
"France is going to take similar measures and so put in place obligatory isolation for people who come from the United Kingdom," he said, adding that further details will be announced shortly.
Germany has imposed a 14-day requirement for arrivals from the UK after designating the country a "virus variant area of concern".
It came amid worries about the Indian variant, which is thought to be more transmissible - though vaccines appear to continue to work against it.
According to the UK's Foreign Office, it is also now only possible to enter Germany from Britain if you are a German citizen, resident or the partner or child of one.
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An "urgent humanitarian reason", such as an immediate family bereavement, can also be used to gain entry.
There is no possibility for travellers to leave quarantine early through testing.
On Sunday, the same day Germany designated the UK as a variant area of concern, French foreign minister Jean-Yves Le Drian raised the possibility of his country imposing its own restrictions.
He suggested the UK could be included in a health category of its own.
That could see a level of restrictions between the strictest imposed on visitors from India and 15 other countries and the more lax rules that will be used to allow travel from EU countries and some other nations.
France remains on the UK's amber list, which means on arrival in England travellers must quarantine at home for 10 days and take a Covid test by day two and day eight, with the possibility of leaving isolation early if the tests are negative.
