France closes borders to all arrivals from outside the EU

Due to the ongoing spread of the coronavirus, the French authorities have banned border crossings for anyone planning to travel to countries outside the EU or to arrive from there. This was announced on Friday evening by Prime Minister Jean Casteks.

“All entries and exits across the French border outside the EU are prohibited, except in special circumstances. This measure will take effect from 00:00 Sunday, he said. "All trips outside France to EU countries are possible only with a [negative] PCR test, except for workers living in border areas."

In the meantime, according to a previous order from the authorities, all travelers from countries outside the EU must present a certificate of a negative coronavirus test no more than three days ago. They are also required to undergo a seven-day individual quarantine. Then they have to re-test, which must also be negative, so that they can obtain permission to stay in the country.

Coronavirus situation in France

The head of government noted that although the authorities in France "are better at coping with the coronavirus epidemic than in other countries," the situation is still a matter of concern. According to him, more than 27 thousand patients with COVID-19 are now in French hospitals, of which 3 thousand are in intensive care (previously it was repeatedly reported that the bed capacity in the country's intensive care units is about 5 thousand beds). The authorities are paying particular attention to the spread of more infectious strains of the virus.

“Against the background of such data, the question of returning the self-isolation regime was justly raised. But we are aware of the grave consequences of such a decision for the French, and so far we have the opportunity to give ourselves another chance to avoid it, ”the prime minister said.

In this regard, in addition to closing the borders, the authorities also decided to stop the work of all shopping centers and shops with an area of ​​more than 20 thousand square meters. m, selling non-food products. Starting Monday, for all commercial properties, standards will be tightened on the maximum number of buyers and staff who can simultaneously be in the sales area. In addition, the prime minister urged businesses to transfer the maximum number of employees to remote work. He has pledged tighter enforcement of curfews and restrictions on food service establishments and bars.

According to the latest official data, since the beginning of the epidemic, more than 3 million cases of coronavirus infection have been registered in the country, more than 75 thousand people have died.

On December 27, a vaccination campaign was launched in France. Since January 18, vaccinations have been given not only to those living in nursing homes and doctors, but also to people over 75 years old, as well as people with serious illnesses. To date, more than 1 million people have been vaccinated against the coronavirus.