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France imposes quarantine on arrivals from 4 countries

April 18, 2021

The country is concerned about the spread of highly contagious coronavirus variants, as it continues to fight a third infection wave.

https://p.dw.com/p/3sBQ3
A man wearing a face mask and black leather jacket pushes a trolley at a French airport
Travelers from four countries will face a mandatory 10-day quarantine periodImage: Lionel Urman/abaca/picture alliance

France is imposing a compulsory 10-day quarantine on travelers flying from Argentina, Brazil, Chile and South Africa.

The new measure has been introduced amid concerns about the highly contagious P1 coronavirus variant, the prime minister's office said on Saturday.

New measures for travelers to France

The mandatory quarantine restrictions on travelers from Argentina, Chile and South Africa will be gradually introduced over the coming days, becoming fully enforced from next Saturday.

Authorities will check before and after the flight to ensure travelers have arrangements to isolate themselves.

The police will also be used to ensure the quarantine is respected. People found breaking the quarantine will face fines.

Travelers will additionally have to show a negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test certificate that is less than 36 hours old, ahead of boarding their flight.

Flights from Brazil to France are currently suspended, but they are set to start again on Saturday for people residing in France or holding a French or European Union passport. When they arrive, they will have to follow the quarantine rules.

A quarantine will also be imposed on travelers coming from French Guiana, an overseas department of France on the northeast coast of South America.

France's third COVID-19 wave

The quarantine measure is part of France's renewed tightening of restrictions in its fight against the third wave of the coronavirus. It has recently imposed an overnight curfew, closed non-essential shops and restricted travel inside the country.

There were 35,861 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Saturday, Health Ministry data showed. About 12.3 million people out of a population of 67 million have so far received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine.

kmm/sri (AFP, Reuters)