On Saturday morning, the travelers from France arriving in the United Kingdom will be subject to a quatorzaine due to the increase in the number of cases of coronavirus in france. “We have made great sacrifices to bring down the number of infections in our country. We can’t allow import of new cases from abroad “, said the british minister of Transport, Grant Shapps, to justify the imposition of this measure announced on Thursday evening. Malta, Monaco and the netherlands are also covered by this initiative of a unilateral applied recently to Spain and Belgium.
France has quickly challenged this decision. It is” a british decision that we regret and that will result in a measure of reciprocity, in the hope of a return to normal as quickly as possible, ” tweeted the secretary of State in charge of european Affairs, Clement Beaune.
the Four criteria
Officially, the decision against France is motivated by four criteria, the rate of infections and deaths, the rate of reproduction of the coronavirus, the quality of supervision of health in the countries concerned and the importance of measures to fight against the Covid put in place. Combined with the sharp deterioration of the health situation in france, which has pushed the british authorities to impose a brutal way out of this isolation.
The uk department of Transport highlights the increase in the incidence rate (i.e. the number of new cases reported to the population) in France in the past two weeks to 32.1 per 100 000 inhabitants compared with 18.5 in the United Kingdom.
In practice, travelers need before their arrival to fill out the Public Health Passenger Locator Form available on the Internet and need to travel to the United Kingdom. Including the need to provide an address and a telephone number for authorities to contact the interested parties for the duration of the quarantine.
About 500 000 British in France vacation
On paper, the conditions of the quarantine and the respect of sanitary measures are draconian. The fine to be imposed on those who defy the prohibition of out can rise up to 1 000 pounds (1 106 euros). But, arguing a lack of resources, financial and technical, in these times of Covid, the police and the immigration services do not consider themselves to be equipped to carry out controls. To this day, a single fine for violation of quarantine has been imposed in England and Wales.
London estimates that the number of british tourists passing their holidays in France amounted to 500 000 people. France is the second tourist destination of the British in Europe after Spain.
Boris Johnson is in a hurry to react
Two factors explain the decision of London to resort to the quarantine. First of all, the government of Boris Johnson is on the hot seat for his reaction too late in coronavirus. In wanting to spare the goat (the health system) and the cabbage (the economy), the team has hesitated on what to do. Result, while the country is an international crossroads of transport, the quarantine has not been introduced in February-march in the airports and to travelers from Asia (China, Korea), Iran and not Europe (except Italy). In a report highly critical published on 5 August, the commission of the interior of the House of commons denounced the lack of coherence of government action in this area.
“All of our decisions during the pandemic were based on the scientific advice,” replied the 10 Downing Street in refuting the conclusions of the parliamentary inquiry.
Then, the balance of the coronavirus in the United Kingdom remains the highest in Europe, with officially 41 347 dead. At the global level, the country is on the fifth place in terms of number of fatalities, behind the United States, Brazil, Mexico and India.
The port of the mask far from being generalized
scientists and medical authorities british fear of a second wave in the fall or winter. The reluctance of a part of the British, especially the young, to wear the mask or the practice of distancing could result in a sharp increase of the contamination and the movement of the coronavirus. Mandatory in the public transport and airports, the port of the mask is only recommended in the stores. Rare are those who wear it in the street.
The Foreign Office has warned in the wake that only the fantastic trips in France are recommended. This injunction will result in the cancellation of the travel insurance of the British, eager to cross the Channel. Until the end of the transition period of the Brexit, set at 31 December 2020, His Majesty’s subjects may, however, use the european health insurance card which entitles them to public health care they would need during a temporary stay in one of the 27 member States of the EU, under the same conditions and at the same rate as people insured in that country.
The British just as the residents settled in the United Kingdom are encouraged to finish their holiday in France as expected. All that remains is Eurotunnel, ferries and airlines, are expected Friday to a huge influx of tourists seeking to return to the country before the start of the quarantine.
