Travelers at risk: "The quarantine is checked at least once", assures the Ministry of the Interior

The systematic tests on arrival and the 10-day quarantine for travelers from the five countries deemed most at risk in terms of Covid, due to worrying variants, illustrate the turn of the screw desired by France at its borders.

The Interior Ministry claims to have carried out “4,166 placements in quarantine (negative passengers) and 18 isolation (positive passengers) since the strengthening of controls for travelers from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, from South Africa and India ”, April 24.

Concretely, a nominative prefectural decree is given to each passenger at the end of the long journey upon arrival on French soil, the overwhelming majority via Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle airport.

Passengers who disembark from these destinations by stopovers are also affected by the measures, according to Camille Chaize, spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior: “Flights from European and international hubs which still serve the targeted countries are controlled. and screened passengers.

This is for example the case of Istanbul, Addis Ababa, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Madrid or Lisbon… Passengers on board coming from a target country are identified via their registration card or their passport and placed in quarantine.

"

Less regular road checks

At the end of the screening, whatever the verdict, all the modalities are the same, with the exception of outings authorized between 10 am and 12 noon for “negative” patients. Carriers of the virus like others can isolate themselves at their home, in a hotel or in a place of accommodation provided by the administration. “Quarantine or isolation is checked at least once during the 10-day period,” explains Camille Chaize. The police are instructed to be more vigilant for isolation. "In the event of a violation, the fine will be severe: 1,000 euros for its basic version, 1,300 euros in the event of an increase.

Since January 21, France has requested a PCR test from all entrants to its territory, except for border workers and truck drivers. Concretely, ground controls involve ad hoc measures. “I regularly go to Luxembourg for meetings and I have never been checked on the motorway on the way back, illustrates Clémence, a resident of Zoufftgen (Moselle). At the exit, we mainly see customs, but rather to intercept those carrying drugs… There was a big control operation when the Prime Minister announced reinforced border controls, but that was all. "

Checks are much more frequent at the Spanish border, where many French people have been tempted to take advantage of the slightest health restrictions in recent months, but again, they are not systematic.