It is a higher level of risk! This new alert level was issued and announced on Wednesday 01 December by Gabriel Attal, the French government spokesman. For the moment, it concerns South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini, Malawi, Zambia and Mauritius.
Redder than red!
We are no longer only in the ‘red list‘ but in the ‘scarlet red list’ following the rise of cases linked to the Omicron variant around the world. Although no official case has been reported in Mauritius, this ranking is due to the fact that the Reunionese passenger who was tested positive for Omicron has transited through Mauritius. To highlight, Mauritius, Malawi and Zambia were added to the list today. Since Friday 26 November, the red flag was on South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia.
French prevention measures – No half measures
This implies a ban on all business and tourist travels. The resumption will be gradual as from Saturday 04 December but within “an extremely strict and drastic framework“, warned Gabriel Attal. Those, who will be allowed to fly to France, will only be French citizens, European nationals, diplomatic personnel and flight attendants. Travel for work, tourism, family reasons, study or research will remain prohibited until further notice. Travellers will have to undergo a PCR test before boarding and upon arrival with an imposed isolation regardless of the result, 7 days in self-isolation in a place of the traveller’s choice for the negative case and 10 days for the positive case in a hotel designated by the French government, “In both cases, this isolation will be monitored by the country’s security forces“, says Gabriel Attal. The recalcitrant will face a fine of 1000 to 1500 euros. The same goes to all authorised passengers from Mauritius wishing to go to Reunion
13 suspected cases of the Omicron variant are circulating on French territory. Citing that a case has already been confirmed on the island of Reunion, the government spokesman stated: “So let’s not be naïve, there will very likely be cases on our territory in the coming hours or days”. He also assured that “all cases are being sequenced“.
