London abolishes quarantine for vaccinated travelers coming from mainland France

The British government announced Wednesday evening the removal from Sunday of the quarantine imposed on travelers vaccinated against the coronavirus arriving in England from mainland France.

London thus lifts a measure denounced as "discriminatory" by Paris, imposed three weeks ago, that the government of Boris Johnson had justified by the presence of the Beta variant in France.

Mainland France thus returns to the classic orange list, while the French island of Reunion is now on the red list, reserving only British residents the possibility of returning to England, at the cost of an expensive quarantine at the hotel. 10 day mandatory.

It excluded France from a relaxation of British rules, which recently made it possible to exempt from quarantine travelers from countries classified in orange if they are vaccinated with a serum approved by American and European regulators.

"Open international travel safely"

Spain, the first destination for British holidaymakers, escapes the red list and remains in orange. India, Barhein, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates leave the red list to be classified in orange. Seven countries, including Germany, are joining the green list, requiring only a negative test before departure and a test on the second day. "We are determined to open up safe international travel," UK Transport Minister Grant Shapps said in a statement. “While we must continue to be careful, today's changes are reopening a range of vacation destinations around the world, which is good news for the industry and travelers,” he added.

The rules set by the UK government apply only to England, but local governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland generally adopt the same measures. One of the hardest hit countries in Europe, the United Kingdom has deplored more than 130,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic.