France imposes a negative test of less than 24 hours on travelers from six European countries

Published on : 07/17/2021 – 12:15

Due to the rapid spread of the Delta variant in Europe, France will impose Covid-19 tests of less than 24 hours on entry into its territory from the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Greece and the Netherlands, Matignon announced on Saturday July 17th.

This measure, which concerns unvaccinated travelers, will come into force on Sunday at midnight, said a press release from Prime Minister Jean Castex.

People arriving from the UK are currently subject to showing a negative test within 48 hours. The deadline is 72 hours for those coming from Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, the Netherlands and Greece.

This announcement by Jean Castex comes as the British government announced on Friday that it would not lift the mandatory quarantine this Saturday for vaccinated travelers from France, as is the case for other countries.

Constraints lifted for the vaccinated

However, travelers vaccinated against Covid-19 with a vaccine recognized by the European Medicines Agency will no longer have to present a negative test to enter French territory as of this Saturday.

“Because the vaccines are effective against the virus, and in particular its variant Delta, the constraints weighing on travelers benefiting from a complete vaccination schedule with a vaccine recognized by the European Medicines Agency (Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca or Janssen) will be lifted from this Saturday, July 17, regardless of the country of origin, “said Jean Castex.

The French Prime Minister also confirms that the vaccination schedule is now considered complete seven days after the injection of a second dose, or a dose for people who have already contracted the virus, against 14 days previously.

However, for the Janssen single dose vaccine, the regimen is not considered complete until after the injection and a period of 28 days. Finally, the Covishield vaccine “is now recognized for the health pass”.

Matignon also confirms the expansion of the list of “red” countries to Tunisia, Mozambique, Cuba and Indonesia. The Prime Minister clarified that travel to countries classified on the red list remains discouraged. Travelers who nevertheless have a “compelling reason” to go there will have to present a negative test on departure from these countries and on arrival in France, as well as undergo a controlled quarantine of ten days on French soil.

Covid-19 contaminations continue to climb rapidly, dropping back above the 10,000 mark on Friday under the effect of the Delta variant, while hospitalizations were still down slightly, according to figures from Public Health France.

With AFP and Reuters