France applies 'even more drastic' restrictions to travellers from UK over Omicron spike

The French government has said it will bolster controls on travellers arriving from Britain after a steep rise in infections linked to the Omicron coronavirus variant in the UK.

Christmas shoppers wearing face masks walk along New Bond Street, London as cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant rise in the UK. REUTERS - PETER NICHOLLS

The measures, which come into effect on Saturday, include reducing the validity of antigen and PCR tests to 24 hours from 48 hours for arriving travellers, and limiting reasons to travel from Britain to France.

Speaking on BFMTV this Thursday morning, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said: "We are going to put in place a control....even more drastic than that which is currently in place.

"Tourism and business travel for people who are not French nationals nor Europeans, people who are not French residents will be limited," he added. 

Gabriel Attal (@GabrielAttal) annonce qu'un "contrôle aux frontières plus drastique" sera appliqué pour les déplacements entre la France et le Royaume-Uni pic.twitter.com/LIrZ7sGwMD

— BFMTV (@BFMTV) December 16, 2021

• France may tighten border controls with Britain to block spread of Omicron variant
• New rules come into force across the UK as Omicron flares up

UK infections highest since start of pandemic

Travellers from Britain arriving in France will have to self-isolate for seven days though isolation will be lifted after 48 hours if their test conducted in France is negative.

These restrictions until now applied only to non-vaccinated travellers from Britain.

"Our goal is to limit as much as possible the spread of Omicron across our territory," Attal said, adding there were currently 240 confirmed Omicron cases in France.

The latest figures released on Wednesday showed new Covid-19 infections in the United Kingdom reached the highest daily level since the early 2020 start of the pandemic, with more than 78,000 reported.

On Wednesday, France reported 65,713 new coronavirus infections over 24 hours, bringing total cases since the start of the epidemic to 8.4 million.

The total number of deaths in France since the start of the epidemic has reached 120,983.