"I'm sorry, but your Covid test is no longer valid. Please put yourself on this side to be tested." This is how Rob, an American from Northern California, was greeted on his arrival at Roissy Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle (CDG) airport in Paris, Tuesday, August 4, after a transatlantic flight from 11:00.
"Whether the test should have been performed 72 hours before boarding or before landing was not very clear. Another customs officer checked the date and time of my test, and I finally let it pass ", explains to France 24 this passenger, who travels regularly in Europe.
Like Rob, all other passengers on flight AF87 from San Francisco were required to present French customs authorities with a negative Covid test carried out less than 72 hours before boarding. Otherwise, they had to undergo a Covid PCR test (that is to say by nasal swab) before going through customs.
The French authorities have imposed, since August 1, compulsory Covid tests for all passengers from 16 countries located in the so-called "scarlet" zone, where the virus is widely circulating. Only French people returning to their country, foreigners established in France or people traveling for professional reasons can travel from these destinations; simple tourism is not allowed. This list, which must be updated every two weeks, currently includes the United States, Brazil, Algeria, Turkey, India, Israel, South Africa, Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates , Panama, Madagascar, Peru, Qatar, Oman and Serbia.
"It's reassuring to know that most of the passengers who were on the plane had already tested negative before boarding," Josselin Lefrançois, a French entrepreneur living in San Francisco, told France 24, back to see his family.
"And then it's a good thing that we can benefit from free Covid tests on arrival. Some US laboratories are late, sometimes up to six days, to send the results. And the tests can be very expensive. ", adds the French, who paid 250 dollars for his test in San Francisco.
Free Covid test centers have been available on a voluntary basis since July at Charles-de-Gaulle airport. Two screening centers are therefore located near the arrivals gate at terminals 2E and 2A. The third Covid center is located near the baggage return ramps, before customs, at terminal 2E. It is to this center that passengers from "scarlet" countries who have not been able to justify a Covid test before boarding are directed.
No compulsory fortnight in France
The sampling method is the same in the three centers. The passenger presents an identity document and fills out a form with his contact details and an email address. He then goes through small prefabricated cabins where a medical team awaits him in full protective gear - mask, charlotte, gown and gloves. A swab - a kind of long, very thin rod - is pushed deep into the passenger's nostrils to take a sample, which is then sent to a lab. A process lasting a few seconds, unpleasant without being painful. The results are then emailed to the person tested between 24 and 48 hours.
The screening centers set up near the arrivals gate are very popular with travelers, who plan to fly from Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle airport to foreign destinations where a negative test is required.
"I am flying to Conakry [the capital of Guinea] on August 7. Guinean authorities are demanding a negative Covid test result before letting you enter the territory. I was taking my boy to the airport for his flight today, and it was the right opportunity to do this test, "Amadou Sylla told France 24, after his sample.
This system requiring passengers to have taken a Covid test before boarding is tending to become widespread. A country like Morocco even requires two tests when entering its territory: a PCR by nasal swab and a serological test by blood test.
Nothing like this for the moment in France, where passengers from "scarlet" countries without recent Covid tests can still enter French territory. The Covid test on arrival is indeed mandatory for them but, once it has been carried out, they go through customs like the others without waiting for the results.
"They must show their papers and fill out a form with their contact details in France (...) If the test is positive, these people enter the 'contact tracing' system and they are immediately asked to isolate themselves", explains Alice. Feauveaux, press manager at the Regional Health Agency (ARS).
A system based on civic-mindedness and goodwill which therefore remains much less strict than the real "fortnights" imposed on foreign travelers in several Asian countries, such as Hong Kong or South Korea.
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