France Temporarily Bans All Flights to and From Brazil Due to COVID-19 Variant Spread
The French Government has announced that the country is temporarily suspending all flights to and from Brazil to halt the further spread of the new COVID-19 variant dominating the South American country.
The decision was taken after a closed-door meeting the government officials had with President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday morning, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
The Government did not reveal for how long the flights between the two countries will be suspended. However, the Prime Minister of France Jean Castex explained that this is only a temporary measure until a solution regarding alternative health measures is found.
“We note the situation is getting worse. And so we have decided to suspend all flights between Brazil and France until further notice,” the Prime Minister said, commenting on the Government’s decision.
France detected four cases of the Brazil mutation in its territory back in February. According to the Health Minister of France Olivier Veran, Brazil and South Africa’s variants are responsible for about four per cent of the total infections in France.
The new Coronavirus mutation, known as P.1, was first identified in travellers from Brazil that were tested after their arrival in Japan back in January.
The virus mutation has caused devastation in Brazil, where many hospitals and cemeteries are almost out of their capacity, with the country recording 13,677,564 COVID-19 cases and more than 360,000 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic.
“When there is a need to act swiftly, we try to coordinate, but we won’t have our health measures depend on EU27,” the junior Minister for European affairs Clément Beaune said.
Beaune added that the restrictive measures against Brazil are common among other countries in Europe as well. Except for France, she pointed out that Portugal and Spain have also suspended regular flight connections to Brazil.
Additionally, Germany and Italy have banned entry and imposed stricter quarantine measures for all citizens of Brazil.
Nevertheless, the French Government is checking alternatives for French citizens in Brazil wishing to return to France, provided that they have a constitutional right to do so.
France currently has more relaxed restrictions for several non-EU countries, including the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. In contrast, citizens from the rest of the non-EU countries are allowed entry into France for essential purposes only.
Until today, April 15, travellers from Brazil were required to self-isolate for ten days upon their arrival in France.
Previously, French authorities decided to ban short-haul domestic flights if the trip can be substituted with a train ride of two and a half hours or less to minimise carbon emission.
