LONDON. The UK government has canceled plans to relax coronavirus rules for travelers arriving from France, which was supposed to take effect Monday (19/7). This happened because the Beta variant of the corona virus (Covid-19), which was first identified in South Africa, developed in France.
On Friday, the UK Ministry of Health said anyone arriving from France should be quarantined at home or in other accommodation for five to 10 days, even if they have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
These quarantine requirements will end as planned from early next week for travelers who have already been fully vaccinated from other countries in the UK government's 'yellow' coronavirus risk category, which covers most of Europe.
Just so you know, currently, more than two thirds of British adults are fully vaccinated.
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The UK is set to relax most of its previously implemented rules to contain the spread of the coronavirus, including most of the legal obligation to wear masks. But overseas travel will remain subject to quarantine and testing requirements.
"With the lifting of restrictions on Monday across the country, we will do everything we can to ensure international travel is as safe as possible, and protect our borders from the threat of new variants," said UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid.
Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, France was the UK's second most popular travel destination after Spain, and the news comes just a week before the school holidays start in the UK, when millions of people would normally try to cross the English Channel and travel to Europe.
The change sparked an angry reaction from global aviation body IATA, which said UK travel restrictions and short notice changes were not in line with those elsewhere in the world.
"The UK is establishing itself as an outlier in its confusing approach to travel. This, in turn, is destroying its own travel sector and the thousands of jobs that depend on it," Willie Walsh, Director General of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), told Reuters.
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Truckers will continue to be exempt from quarantine requirements, but it will affect most other travelers, including those transiting through France from elsewhere in Europe.
The UK is currently reporting about 10 times as many Covid-19 cases than France, due to the rapid spread of the Delta variant which was first identified in India, but has had fewer cases of the Beta variant found in France.
The quarantine for arrivals from France is a "precautionary measure ... while we continue to assess the latest data and track the prevalence of the Beta variant," the UK health ministry said.