France set to start lifting restrictions on vaccinated international travelers
According to Macron, French ministers are currently “finalizing the technical discussions” relating to how best to start easing restrictions. Officials are working on developing a system whereby vaccinated French, European and American citizens will be able to travel more freely this summer.
“We will progressively lift the restrictions at the beginning of May,” said Macron, adding, “We are working hard to propose a very concrete solution, especially for US citizens who are vaccinated. So, with a special pass, I would say.”
France’s equivalent of the ‘vaccine passport’
According to the French president, officials are also formulating a testing and/or vaccination certificate in order to facilitate travel between EU nations. This signifies that France will be relying on their own variation of the so-called “vaccine passport,” in order to kick-start foreign travel.
President Macron said the ideal is to offer a choice to the American citizen as to whether to vaccinate or provide a negative PCR test. “So, the idea is, indeed, to always control the virus, to maximize the vaccination and to progressively lift the restrictions.”
France in its third national lockdown
Right now, France is in the midst of its third national lockdown since the COVID-19 pandemic began. The European country is currently contending with another wave of coronavirus infection. At the end of March, Macron made a televised national address, where he attributed the largest surge of infections to the spread of the new COVID-19 variants. These variants are even more transmissible than the previous strains of COVID-19 and have essentially created what Macron called “an epidemic within an epidemic.”
Reportedly, the latest surge of infections in France has also been fueled by the country’s delay in getting its residents vaccinated. However, Macron said that the vaccine production in Europe has accelerated and the country’s immunization efforts are gaining momentum. The president hopes that France will now be on track to meet its vaccination targets.
France imposing tougher restrictions on some countries
Meanwhile, as Macron speaks of living restrictions on European and US visitors, the country is planning to impose tougher entry restrictions on visitors from four countries. Currently, the countries on the list include Argentina, Brazil, Chile and South Africa, but the numbers of countries could grow according to France’s foreign minister. These tougher restrictions are hoped to keep out the especially contagious variants of the coronavirus.
Under those restrictions, 10-day quarantines will be mandatory, along with police checks to ensure visitors from those countries meet the requirements.
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