LONDON — British holidaymakers in France were mulling whether to return home early Friday to avoid having to self-isolate for 14 days following the U.K. government's decision to reimpose quarantine restrictions on France amid a recent pick-up in coronavirus infections.
The British government made the announcement late Thursday that it was taking France off the list of nations exempted from quarantine requirements, leaving hundreds of thousands of holidaymakers, as well as those planning to cross the English Channel in the coming days, weighing up what to do.
Additionally, the French government has indicated that it will respond in kind, a move that is set to further hobble travel and tourism between the two countries at a time when the industry is trying to recover from the economic shock of the coronavirus pandemic.
Philip Alston, who was staying in Paris looking after three cats for a French couple, made the decision — albeit reluctantly — to return to the U.K.
"Fortunately, they said in the case of this happening, they had a stand-by helper," he said at the Gare du Nord train station in Paris. "So I'm really upset because I was having a good time looking after the cats and exploring Paris."
The British government insists that it had to make the decision in light of a 66% spike in coronavirus infections in France in the past week. The Netherlands, Malta, Monaco and the Caribbean islands of Aruba and Turks & Caicos have also been added to the quarantine list for the same reason.
The requirement to spend 14 days in self-isolation will apply to anyone returning to the U.K. after 4 a.m. local time on Saturday, a timeframe that may prompt many — particularly those who cannot work from home — to try to return before then.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the decision shouldn't have come as a big surprise given that the government has consistently said it will continue to monitor infection rates when assessing its list of safe countries. Many of the traditional summer holiday destinations are now on the U.K. list. Of the Mediterranean destinations, only Greece, Italy and Turkey, are still deemed safe.
"Unfortunately, this virus doesn't play ball," he told Sky News. "So people will look at their own situations. I think a lot of people would have been aware that this was a possibility in France and in some of these other countries."
Any rush back is likely to be most prominent in France, the second-most popular holiday destination for British tourists after Spain, which was put on the quarantine list last month. Travel companies are urging anyone considering a swift return home to check whether they will be able to do so.
Firas Kilin, a traveler from London, was quick off the mark as he readied to board a train from Gare du Nord.
"I was supposed to come back tomorrow evening but then after the announcement yesterday, I decided to move it to today and yeah, it cost me 105 pounds ($137) to change my ticket, and my kids' tickets," he said.
Not everyone is going to be able to change their tickets, according to Getlink, which operates the Channel Tunnel rail service linking Britain and France.
John Keefe, Getlink's director of public affairs, told the BBC that trains were "already pretty much fully booked" on Friday.
He said there was "some possibility of adding additional trains in the off-peak periods" but insisted that would-be travelers must check online before heading to the terminal.
While the number of new infections in Britain is also rising, they are not thought to be increasing at the same pace as in the countries added to the quarantine list. The latest 14-day cumulative figures from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control show 32.1 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in France, compared with 18.5 in the U.K.
The decision is a big blow to France's tourism industry, which is heavily reliant on travellers from Britain. At this time of year, campsites in Normandy, wine-tasting tours in the Loire Valley and treks in the Alps are heavily populated by British families on their traditional summer breaks.
France's junior minister for European affairs, Clement Beaune, voiced his regret at the U.K. decision and said it will "prompt a retaliatory measure, in the hope of getting back to normal as soon as possible."
The Dutch foreign ministry also updated its travel advisory for the U.K. and is now recommending people to only travel to the country if necessary. However, those returning to the Netherlands will not have to quarantine.
The U.K.'s quarantine approach has been criticized by many travel companies, some of whom are urging a change of tack, such as a ramp-up in testing of all arrivals in the country. Following the decision, many travel stocks were down sharply. Getlink, for example, was down over 6% while International Airlines Group, which owns British Airways, fell by 4%.
Shapps said the proposal to introduce mass testing on all arrivals "isn't quite as straightforward as it sounds" because many people may not test positive for the virus at the point of arrival but may end up doing so a few days later.
"You need to have a system which is more accurate than that before you can say to people you've now been tested and you don't need to quarantine," he said.
"day" - Google News
August 14, 2020 at 02:17PM
https://ift.tt/2Y190tB
France, Netherlands added to UK's 14-day quarantine list - Minneapolis Star Tribune
"day" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3f7h3fo
https://ift.tt/2VYSiKW
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "France, Netherlands added to UK's 14-day quarantine list - Minneapolis Star Tribune"
Post a Comment