Two clusters of the coronavirus variant first discovered in the UK have been detected in France, the Ministry of Health said on Thursday. The discovery comes as Prime Minister Jean Castex announced an extension of the closure of the UK-France border.
A total of 19 cases of the variant have been identified in the country, including one group in the central French region of Ile-de-France and the other in Brittany, in the west of the country, the ministry said in a statement.
The UK-France border will remain closed “until further notice”, only with certain specific categories of people able to travel – provided they take a negative coronavirus test before entering the country – Castex said in a statement. Press conference.
“We are now just over 15,000 new cases daily, or three times the target of 5,000,” Castex said. The growth of infections is getting worse than it was in mid-December, he warned.
On December 20, France closed its border with the United Kingdom after a new Covid-19 variant was found in the United Kingdom. Two days later, Castex said that French citizens, residents and those with a “legitimate reason” can enter as long as they can demonstrate a negative Covid-19 test.
Coronavirus has killed 66,841 people in France, according to the latest figures released on Thursday by the Health Authority. A total of 2,727,321 people have been infected with the virus since the beginning of the pandemic.