FRANCE is set to follow in the UK’s footsteps in enforcing a 14-day quarantine on Brits entering the country.
Since August 15, France has been on the UK’s quarantine list, meaning anyone returning from the country must self-isolate for two weeks when back in England or face £1,000 fines.
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The restrictions were enforced due to the coronavirus situation in France – total cases are currently 242,899, with 4,897 new cases on August 21.
Data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) put France’s new infection rate per 100,000 population at 36.4 in the past seven days, according to PC Agency’s Paul Charles.
This puts the country way over the 20 mark determined by the UK government as to whether to enforce quarantine on arrival.
Now, France is thought to be reciprocating the measures in the next few days.
Countries including Spain and Croatia, who are also on the quarantine list, have not enforced similar restrictions.
French Junior European Affairs Minister Clément Beaune told local media: “We will have a measure called reciprocity so that our British friends do not close the border in one single way.
“For travellers returning from the United Kingdom, there will probably be restrictive measures decided in the next few days by the Prime Minister and by the Defence Council.”
If this is enforced, Brits will have to not only self-isolate for two weeks in France, but also on their return to the UK – making a one week holiday, five weeks in total.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps warned that France is likely to stay on the travel quarantine list indefinitely, as cases are failing to go down.
He previously told LBC: “At the moment I’m afraid France and Spain have both been going the wrong way.”
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“So just to put numbers on this, we respond when there are about 20 cases per 100,000 of the population measured over a seven-day rolling average. So 20 is the figure to bear in mind.
“And in order to put a country back into the travel corridor, what we say is it needs to stay below that number for a couple of cycles. So a cycle is two weeks long for coronavirus.”
Mr Shapps has already warned Brits to be prepared to quarantine if they go on holiday anywhere this year, due to last-minute travel restrictions.
He said: “As with all air bridge countries, please be aware that things can change quickly.
“Only travel if you are content to unexpectedly 14-day quarantine if required.”
He added that he accepts it is “incredibly inconvenient” for Brits to rush home from countries recently placed on the red list but told travellers to visit countries abroad with their “eyes open”.
He added: “This is a very unpredictable virus which doesn’t play ball in the way it can take off in a country. Anyone traveling this year will know there are risks involved.”
A nudist resort in France has been hit by a coronavirus outbreak, after 100 people tested positive.
