France Lifts COVID Entry Restrictions for All Travellers
Starting August 1, all travellers will be able to enter France without having to follow any COVID-related entry rules as the country has decided to drop all of its restrictions.
The decision on the lifting of the COVID entry restrictions was announced by the French Ministry of Interior.
According to the Ministry, all travellers, regardless of their country of origin, will no longer be required to present a vaccination, recovery, or test certificate upon their arrival.
In addition, they will be able to enter France for all kinds of purposes without having to provide a compelling reason to justify the need to enter the territory of France.
“Faced with the new phase of the pandemic, the border health control system is lifted, in accordance with the law putting an end to the exceptional regimes created to fight against the epidemic linked to covid-19. As a result, since August 1, 2022, the rules previously applied to travellers to France no longer apply,” the statement of the Ministry reads.
Apart from the above-mentioned, the Ministry pointed out that incoming travellers will no longer have to present a sworn statement of non-contamination and a commitment to undergo testing or examination upon their arrival.
Even though the French government decided to abolish all of its COVID restrictions for international travellers, the authorities highlighted that the country might reintroduce the measures again if the virus poses a serious health threat.
“In accordance with the law, the Government finally retains until January 31, 2023, the possibility of activating “emergency brake” measures for a maximum period of two months, after consulting the High Authority for Health in the event of an appearance and circulation of a new variant of covid-19 likely to constitute a serious health threat or, in overseas territories, in the event of a risk of saturation of the health system,” the Ministry added.
It is believed that France decided to lift its rules after considering the infection and the vaccination rates. The World Health Organization shows that France recorded 387,491 new infection cases in the last seven days.
As for the vaccination rates, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control shows that 92.0 percent of the entire adult population in France has completed primary vaccination, and another 74.1 percent have received the first booster shot.
Apart from France, another 26 EU/EEA countries have also already dropped all of their entry rules. the list of countries that permit restriction-free entry to all travellers includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechia, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, and Switzerland.
On the other hand, the Netherlands and Spain still continue to keep their entry rules in place.
Source: https://bit.ly/3oQQVLH
