Omicron: France to lift ban on Southern Africa flights starting this Saturday
France has said it will start allowing flights from ten Southern African countries to land on its territory beginning this Saturday, but with drastic restrictions permitting only French and European Union residents to disembark, along with diplomats and flight crews.
Gabriel Attal, a government spokesperson who announced after a weekly cabinet meeting, said travellers must have a COVID test upon arrival, with a negative result still requiring a seven-day quarantine, while a positive test will prompt a 10-day quarantine, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said after a cabinet meeting.
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The flight ban on Southern African countries including South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe was imposed a week ago when the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 was first discovered in South Africa. Since then, travel between many EU countries and Southern African countries has been restricted, with countries like Germany, Switzerland tightening travel restrictions significantly.
However, the World Health Organization warned that “blanket” travel bans risked doing more harm than good by potentially dissuading countries from sharing data about the virus variants. But it did advise that unvaccinated people vulnerable to Covid-19, including over-60s, should avoid high-risk areas where the omicron virus variant is circulating.
