As we know, it is now an obligation to return to the territory. Since Saturday, all French travelers or residents of France, from the 16 countries classified as red, must undergo screening, upon departure or arrival. The measure had been announced by Jean Castex, the Prime Minister, a week earlier. We must therefore show a white paw if we return from South Africa, Turkey, the United States, Algeria or Brazil, where the virus is actively circulating.
But since mid-July, the Scientific Council, responsible for informing the government in this crisis, proposed several more drastic options in a notice entitled "Arrival in France from countries considered at risk". A text that was slow to be put online. Why such a wait? "It was sent to the government on July 10 at 7 pm," Marie-Christine Simon, in charge of communication for the Scientific Council, told us on Sunday. It is the authorities who decide whether or not to put it on the website of the Ministry of Health, we have no control over that. "
After our requests, the notice was finally published this Monday afternoon. Among the possibilities, specialists advocate a mandatory test before travel and "strongly" recommend isolation before boarding and continued in France for a period of 14 days, in total, even in the event of a negative result. "This measure is the simplest in organizational terms," write the experts.
"The voluntary fortnight remains the rule"
However, today, travelers can take the test on their arrival and must only leave their address in France, an email, a telephone number and limit their contacts while waiting for the results, within 36 hours. Contacted, the Ministry of Health says that there is no real difference. "For people arriving from countries at risk, the voluntary fortnight remains the rule", we are told.
Should we go so far as to impose it in France? From the start of the crisis and until March 1 in France, people returning from Italy had to submit to it. Since then, this measure is required depending on the country and the ups and downs of the epidemic. At the end of July, London decreed the mandatory fortnight for the British, returning from Spain, a news which had taken vacationers by surprise. On Saturday, it was Belgium's turn to tighten the screw and force passengers from the Spanish regions, Mayenne and three Swiss cantons to do a test and isolate themselves for fourteen days.
In France, would this rule applied to travelers from high-risk countries be effective in limiting the circulation of the virus while the number of patients in intensive care is on the rise again? Complicated, answer the specialists. “It would be an additional bulwark but it requires a lot of organization given the flow of passengers. The question is more political than health, ”answers Jean-Daniel Lelièvre, head of the infectious diseases department at Mondor hospital, in Créteil (Val-de-Marne).
Isolation while waiting for the test result?
According to him, it is "obvious" that we will miss positive cases during screening, because the test can turn out to be negative if it is not carried out at the right time. "It can be done too early or too late," says the infectious disease specialist. Nevertheless, the fortnight remains, he says, difficult to apply in the long term. Marie-Paule Kieny, virologist and research director at Inserm, she trusts the reliability of the tests. "But why not isolate the people on their arrival, the time for the result to be known in order to preserve their safety and that of others," she suggests.
This was one of the options also put forward by the Scientific Council in its opinion of 10 July. For epidemiologist Catherine Hill, anyway, this measure of fortnight on arrival at airports would be of little use. “It should also be applied to those who come by train, boat, car! Either way, it's a strainer on all sides, ”she adds.
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Still, what worries her the most is not the flow of travelers but the current situation on French soil. “We don't know how many positive cases there are, the problem is much more serious inside the country. "Visiting this Monday in the Lille metropolis, where the wearing of the compulsory mask is now applied in" open public places ", Prime Minister Jean Castex, for his part, called on the French to" not let their guard down " facing the Covid-19 to avoid "a generalized reconfinement".
In South Korea, a mandatory quarantine for arrivals
South Korea imposes fairly strict arrival conditions on its foreign travelers. Anaëlle, 21, obtained a student visa for Seoul National University, valid from August to the end of December. "We had to provide a Covid test, a quarantine agreement and a certificate of good health", specifies the young woman.
All travelers are screened again upon arrival. If the result is positive, they are placed in the hospital or in a medical center. If it is negative, they must still respect 14 days of confinement. Unlike other universities, Anaëlle's does not support this transition period.
“I had to use Airbnb, that's what is the cheapest,” she explains. During this period of isolation, the bedroom, bathroom and kitchen must be individual, “we cannot share them”, recalls the Parisian student. The country also imposes to inform every day his state of health on a specific application. In case of non-compliance with the rules, the visa or residence permit may be canceled.