France is preparing to impose new restrictions on travelers from four countries, in an attempt 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 family members, citizens of the European Union and others with 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 provide proof of a negative PCR test performed within 36 hours of boarding or a negative antigen test performed less than 24 hours prior to flight.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Sunday that the number of countries on this list could increase, 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 these countries.”
France has confirmed more than 100,000 coronavirus deaths, the PA reports, among the European countries most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The AP notes that the COVID-19 variant first identified in the UK now accounts for 80% of cases in France, while the variants believed to have originated in Brazil and South Africa account for about 4%.
French President Emmanuel Macron
Emmanuel Jean-Michel Macron Sunday shows preview: Russia, US exchange sanctions; police tensions are rising; vaccination campaign continues Hill’s Morning Report – Presented by Tax March – Biden to Putin: Tough sanctions, Zelensky speaks directly to meet with France, Germany on Russia’s tensions MORE said on Sunday that some travel restrictions, especially for vaccinated people, will start to rise from May, possibly allowing a tourist season.
“We will gradually lift the restrictions from the beginning of May, which means that we will organize in the summer with our professionals from France for European French citizens, but also for American citizens,” Macron said on CBS’s “Make the Nation.” “So we are working hard to come up with a very concrete solution, especially for American citizens who are vaccinated, so I would have a special permit, I would say.”