Boris Johnson promises to be ‘absolutely ruthless’ about adding France to coronavirus quarantine list
Boris Johnson was asked about the coronavirus quarantine on his visit to Northern Ireland (PA)
2 min read
Boris Johnson has warned Brits planning a trip to France he will be “absolutely ruthless” when it comes to imposing a coronavirus quarantine on returning holidaymakers.
The Prime Minister said senior officials will be looking at the data on Covid-19 infections on Thursday evening before updating the list of countries it is deemed safe to travel to.
After Spain was removed from the travel corridor last month, meaning millions of UK holidaymakers would have to self-isolate for 14 days when they got back, there were fears France could follow suit.
They reported more than 2,500 coronavirus cases on Wednesday, the highest since President Macron began to ease the country’s lockdown.
A decision on whether to place France on the ‘red list’, along with Malta and the Netherlands - which both have even higher infection rates - could be announced on Friday morning, and come into force in the following days.
As well as throwing huge numbers of families’ summer vacation plans into chaos, it would be deeply damaging to France’s ailing tourism industry.
But speaking to reporters during a visit to Northern Ireland, Mr Johnson said: "We have got to be absolutely ruthless about this, even with our closest and dearest friends and partners.
“I think everybody understands that.
"We will be looking at the data a bit later on this afternoon - looking exactly where France and other countries are getting to.”
The PM added: "We can't be remotely complacent about our own situation.
“Everybody understands that in a pandemic you don't allow our population to be reinfected or the disease to come back in.
"That is why the quarantine measures are very important and we have to apply them in very strict way."
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