No vaccine in US means quarantine in France

PTI, Jan 2, 2022, 6:18 PM IST

Unvaccinated people travelling from the United States will have to self-isolate in France for 10 days under supervision from local authorities in line with new government restrictions that come into force on Sunday.

All passengers from the U.S. have to provide a negative COVID-19 test – a PCR or an antigen test – no older than 48 hours in addition to proof of vaccination before boarding a flight to France. Unvaccinated travellers from the U.S. previously were required to self-quarantine without supervision for seven days. New COVID-19 cases in France have surpassed 200,000 for four consecutive days, fuelled by the highly contagious omicron variant. French authorities also are stepping up pressure on unvaccinated residents. The government is pushing parliament to pass a law in the next two weeks that would allow only vaccinated residents to enter restaurants, cinemas, theaters, museums, and sports arenas.

France’s current ”health pass” also allows access for people with proof of a negative test or having recovered from COVID-19. If the law is passed, the health pass would become a “vaccination pass” that would also be required on inter-region trains and on buses and domestic flights.