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HEALTH

France suspends all travel from UK as ‘precautionary measure’ over new Covid strain

France has joined Germany and Italy in announcing a complete ban on travel from the UK after a new strain of Covid-19 was discovered. France will ban all road, rail, sea and air travel from the UK for an initial period of 48 hours.

Published: 20 December 2020 14:56 CET
Updated: 21 December 2020 10:47 CET
France suspends all travel from UK as 'precautionary measure' over new Covid strain
Photo: AFP

France joins a long list of countries to have banned travel from the UK over fears of the new Covid strain, which the UK government says could be up to 70 percent more contagious.

France's health minister Oliver Véran said there was as yet no proof that the new variant is more contagious, but France was taking precautionary measures.

He told Europe 1 radio on Monday morning: “It's the same virus, but whose genetic code has been a little disrupted, […] which happens quite frequently.

“This variation of the virus has been identified in an area of England where we are also witnessing a high level of virus circulation.

“English scientists wonder whether this new variant could be more contagious than the others, they have no proof, but you understand that we take all the necessary precautions.”

Germany will also suspend air links with Britain “from midnight”, the health minister said on Sunday whilst in Italy Health Minister Roberto Speranza stated announced he had signed an ordinance “which blocks flights from Great Britain and prohibits entry into Italy of people who have stayed there during the last 14 days”.

France's ban covers travel by air, road, rail and sea and came into operation at midnight on Sunday.

READ ALSO France's UK travel ban – who is affected and what happens next?

Only unaccompanied freight will be allowed into France.

Transport from France to the UK is not affected.

The initial ban will be for 48 hours while France talks to fellow EU member states and works on putting in place extra controls at the border.

Transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said on Monday morning that a protocol will be put in place “within the next few hours”.

 READ MORE: Germany to stop all flights in and out of UK starting midnight Sunday

READ MORE: Italy suspends air travel with UK over new coronavirus strain

The statement from French Prime Minister Jean Castex said: “The 48-hour time limit is intended to achieve two objectives:

“To allow time for coordination between EU Member States in order to define a common doctrine on the regulation and control of travel from the United Kingdom;

“To prepare operationally for the secure reopening of traffic flow from the United Kingdom from December 22nd, based on a mandatory testing system at the start of the journey.

“We will pay particular attention to the specific situation of French nationals who plan to return to France to spend the festive season with their families. We are already encouraging them to make arrangements for a PCR test in the coming days.”

 

The Netherlands, Ireland, Bulgaria, Austria and Belgium have already suspended flights from the UK.

France's government convened a meeting of the Defence Council – which deals with health restrictions – on Sunday evening to discuss the issue.

Discussions have been ongoing on Sunday between French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ursula von der Leyen and Charles Michel in Brussels.

Germany announced on Sunday afternoon that it will ban all flights from the UK and South Africa – where the new virus strain has also been reported – from midnight on Sunday. The ban will last until January 6th.

The new variant of the Covid-19 virus is believed to have first appeared in the London and Kent areas in September, and is reported to be up to 70 percent more contagious than other strains.

The variant was cited by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as the reason behind last-minute changes to health restrictions in London and South East England, announced on Saturday, which have seen thousands of people unable to travel as planned over Christmas.

The French government said: “It is not clear at this stage that the so-called “rapid” spread of this mutation in the United Kingdom is linked to an intrinsic property of this virus. The fact that this strain is more contagious has not been demonstrated at this stage.”

“However,” the statement added, “on Saturday December 19th, against the backdrop of the acceleration of the epidemic in the UK over the past few days, British health authorities notified the World Health Organisation (WHO) of the information that this mutation could possibly be more contagious than the other variants of SARS-CoV-2.

“This is why, following a Defence Council meeting chaired by the President, it was decided to suspend all passenger travel, including freight transport, by road, air, sea or rail from the United Kingdom for 48 hours from midnight (Paris time) this evening – December 20th.”

Following the UK's announcement on Saturday, the Dutch government announced on Sunday morning that it was banning all flights from the UK until January 1st.

The Belgian, Bulgarian and Italian governments followed suit, with Italy banning all flights from the UK and the entry of anyone who had been in the UK in the last 14 days.

Ireland has also announced it will be suspending all flights and ferries from the UK, for an initial period of 48 hours.

On the question of whether there should be a coordinated EU response, European commissioner Thierry Breton said the issue was one of individual member states to decide.

He said: “It is very difficult to take decisions for 456 million people at the same time. It is in Kent that we discover this change, but chould it have repercussions in the Czech Republic, Romania or Greece.

“We will continue, and this is our strength, to deal with our differences (…). It is the Member States that decide, and then we try to draw up the best practices to apply them.”

Most countries had specified that only air travel would be affected, but a large proportion of travel between France and the UK is via Eurostar, ferry or the Channel Tunnel – the French announcement makes it clear that all these methods of travel will be affected.

For most people, travel between the UK and France has only been possible since December 15th when France lifted its lockdown.

Travellers from the UK already face the possibility of a ban on non-essential travel from January 1st, when the UK will be outside the EU and therefore covered by the closure of the Bloc's external borders, which has been in place since March.

Member comments

  1. This mutations was only a matter of time. Thank you to all those who ignored advice about continuing to wear masks, keep social distance and large meetings, and washing hands. You’ve helped make a bad situation worse. It was simple, it was clear, but many people I saw in May/June ignored it. This new strain seems particularly virulent. I can’t see flight and train bans keeping it out of Europe for long.

  2. Just stop everything from the UK, all forms of transport. Every hour matters.

    EU should blanket ban all travel to and from UK.

  4. those Britons retreating towards the Channel ports should stay calm and gather along the promenades of Dunkirk & De Panne (Belgium) and await further orders as best they can. They should be reassured that HMG & Ministry of Defence (and with the kind supporting advice of senior People Trafficers) are doing their very best to ensure their safe return to Blighty hopefully by 31 December 2020. If they have access to a
    radio or internet there will be a message of support & encouragement from HM The Queen. No time is yet fixed. God speed all

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HEALTH

How serious is the threat from dengue fever in France?

As tiger mosquitoes are now present in over 80 percent of mainland France, health authorities are worried that local transmission of tropical diseases, like dengue fever, will increase.

Published: 14 June 2024 15:15 CEST
How serious is the threat from dengue fever in France?

As of January 2024, tiger mosquitoes – known for their ability to carry diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus – had been detected in 78 of France’s 96 mainland départements, including the Paris region.

This has left public health authorities concerned about the spread of dengue fever in France, particularly this summer as large crowds are expected amid the Olympic Games.

READ MORE: MAP: Tiger mosquitoes reach northern France

How common is dengue fever in France?

In the first four months of 2024, 1,679 cases of dengue fever were identified in mainland France, a number that is 13 times higher than the same period last year, Le Parisien reported.

Crucially, however, none of these are believed to have been contracted in mainland France – they were all reported among patients who had recently travelled from the tropical regions where dengue fever is common.

The majority of cases were from people who had visited the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe – where the disease is endemic.

These islands are for administrative purposes part of France – so often show up in French health data – but they are roughly 7,000km away from Paris.

So far, there have not been any indigenous cases (autochtone – or people infected on mainland French soil) yet this year.

Local transmission of the disease remains relatively rare. In 2023, nine separate outbreaks of indigenous dengue transmission were identified, one of which occurred in the Paris region. These led to 45 cases of local transmission (in mainland France).

Most were in southern France – in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Occitanie and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions – though one outbreak occurred in the Paris region, according to French public health authorities.

This is less than 2022, which was a notable year with 66 total cases of indigenous dengue fever were recorded. In comparison, between 2010 and 2021, only 48 cases (total) were recorded.

What to expect for 2024

Experts believe that the number of cases in France, including indigenous ones, will grow this year, as tiger mosquitoes now occupy more territory in mainland France.

On top of that, the number of cases has increased significantly in Martinique and Guadeloupe.

“What we see in France is a mirror image of what is happening in the French Caribbean, and more widely in Latin America and the rest of the Caribbean, where dengue fever has been circulating since the start of the year at unprecedented levels”, the head of Santé Publique France, Dr Caroline Semaille, said during a press conference.

The Olympic Games will also bring an influx of tourists from all over the world, and weather conditions are expected to be conducive to mosquitoes – a year with a lot of rainfall, and potentially high temperatures. 

What is dengue fever?

The disease is spread to people from bites by infected mosquitoes.

The most common symptoms are high fever, chills, abdominal, joint and muscle pains, and vomiting. It can also cause a skin rash that resembles measles, according to France’s Institut Pasteur.

Symptoms usually begin three to 14 days (with an average of four to seven) after being bitten.

However people are asymptomatic in 50 to 90 percent of cases (depending on the epidemic), which can make monitoring difficult.

At-risk groups include the immunocompromised, children and the elderly, who are more likely to suffer from severe forms of the disease.

Deaths from the disease are very rare, occurring in around 0.01 percent of all cases, almost all in countries that have poor healthcare systems.

How can I avoid tiger mosquitoes?

Female tiger mosquitoes lay their eggs in water, and they can lay several hundred eggs at once. Therefore try to avoid having any standing water outside your home and be aware of the items that might collect rainwater.

This includes regularly emptying vases, flower pots, as well as watering cans and pots. If you want to collect rainwater, you could cover water butts with mosquito nets or fabric to keep the mosquitoes from getting inside.

READ ALSO 5 plants that (allegedly) repel mosquitoes

You can also keep your gutters clean – this helps to keep the water flowing when it rains, and it avoids any stagnant pools from building up.

To protect yourself, try to wear long, loose and light-coloured clothing, in addition to insect repellent. You might also consider wearing a mosquito net head gear.

The main difference between tiger mosquitoes and other species would be getting a bite during the day, and the fact that tiger mosquitoes are likely to bite several times. You can tell for sure if it was a tiger mosquito by seeing the insect itself. They are also silent.

There is no immediate cause for alarm if you are bitten, in almost all cases the bites are just itchy and annoying. In very rare cases, tropical diseases can be spread by the mosquitoes – seek medical help if you develop a high fever and rash.

READ MORE: How to prevent the spread of tiger mosquitoes in France

What do tiger mosquitoes look like?

They are very small, about 5 mm, and they have a highly contrasting colour, with black and white stripes on their body and legs.

If you believe you have spotted a tiger mosquito, you can report it to public health authorities online.

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