Britain said on Friday that it was removing a planned relaxation of the coronavirus rules for travelers from France, which would take effect on Monday, due to the continued presence of the Beta variant of COVID that was first identified in South Africa. .
Anyone arriving from France will have to quarantine for five to ten days at home or in other accommodation, even if they have been fully vaccinated against COVID, the British Ministry of Health said.
This quarantine requirement ends as planned on Monday for fully vaccinated travelers from other countries in the ‘amber’ category of coronavirus risk, which includes most of Europe. Just over two-thirds of British adults have been fully vaccinated.
Monday ends the majority of coronavirus rules in England, including most legal obligations to wear masks. But foreign travel will be subject to quarantine and test requirements.
“With restrictions lifted across the country on Monday, we will do everything in our power to ensure that international travel is conducted as safely as possible, and protect our borders from the threat of variants,” said Health Minister Sajid Javid. .
Before the coronavirus pandemic, France was Britain’s second most popular travel destination to Spain, and the news comes just a week before school holidays begin in England, when millions usually want to cross the Channel.
The change provoked a furious reaction from the global airline IATA, which said Britain’s travel restrictions and short notices did not match those elsewhere in the world.
“The UK is establishing itself as an outlier in its confusing approach to travel. It in turn is destroying its own travel sector and the thousands of jobs it relies on,” said Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association. (IATA), Reuters said.