France on the verge of being added to UK quarantine list
High-ranking members of the government will today discuss whether to add France to the UK’s travel quarantine list as soon as next week.
France has seen increasing rates of coronavirus in recent weeks, prompting speculation that it could join Belgium and Spain on the quarantine list.
Recently published figures show that France had 4,854 new cases between 8 August and 10 August.
The Times reports that the government’s Covid cabinet – chaired by Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove – will today discuss the possibility of slapping a quarantine on travellers arriving from France.
A source close to the Covid cabinet told The Times: “As we speak now France is probably just shy of crossing the line but it’s certainly right on the cusp.
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“It’s such a huge call it’s likely that they might want to wait a few more days and get some more data.”
France has a Covid-19 rate of infection of 29 per 100,000, which is above the level that the Joint Biosecurity Centre considers “high prevalence”.
The government moved to place 14-day quarantines on travellers returning from Spain and Belgium, after they far exceeded this level.
The Netherlands, which has a rate of infection of 34 per 100,000, could also be in line to be added to the quarantine list.
For comparison, the UK has a 17 per 100,000 rate.
Portgual, on the other hand, may be set quarantine-free travel with the UK as cases continue to fall.
The Iberian nation was one of the few Europen countries to not have the quarantine lifted when the UK changed its travel advice in July.