France accepts India’s Covishield, tightens rules for UK arrivals

UK reverses plan to ease isolation rule for arrivals from France

France yesterday said it will allow international travellers who have taken Covidshield into the country starting today, making it the 16th EU country to recognise AstraZeneca’s Indian-made vaccine.

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland also recognise the vaccine produced by the Serum Institute of India (SII).

France is also tightening its border rules. Starting today, unvaccinated people arriving from Britain, Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Greece or Cyprus will have to show a negative result from a test less than 24 hours old to enter.

Meanwhile, the UK yesterday reversed a plan to ease travel restrictions on France just two days after they were due to start, citing concerns about a variant of the coronavirus. People arriving from France will have to self-isolate for 10 days on entering Britain, even if they are fully vaccinated.

British health authorities say France is being singled out because of the beta variant, first identified in South Africa, which is believed to be more resistant to vaccines.

It accounts for about 10 per cent of cases in France, but much less than 1 per cent of cases in Britain. In both countries, the delta variant first identified in India is dominant.

Tourists and the travel industry vented frustration and anger yesterday after Britain reversed a plan to ease travel restrictions on France just two days after they were due to start, citing concerns about a coronavirus variant.

In an announcement late Friday, the UK government said people arriving from France must self-isolate for 10 days on entering Britain, even if they are fully vaccinated. The announcement came just days after the government said fully vaccinated UK residents will no longer face quarantine starting tomorrow when arriving from dozens of countries classed as “amber,” or medium, on Britain’s traffic-light system of coronavirus risk. The amber list includes the United States, Canada and much of Europe.

British health authorities say France is being singled out because of cases of the beta variant, first identified in South Africa, which is believed to be more resistant to vaccines than other strains of the virus.