France cuts isolation for COVID-positive to 7 days from 10 days
France will relax Covid isolation rules from Monday, the government announced, in a bid to ease their impact on society and the economy. Fully vaccinated people who test positive will only have to isolate for seven days regardless of the coronavirus variant they were infected with, but can leave quarantine after five days if they show an antigen or negative PCR test.
- World
- Reuters
- Published Date: 09:17 | 02 January 2022
- Modified Date: 10:02 | 02 January 2022
French Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Sunday the isolation period for fully vaccinated people who test positive for COVID-19 would be cut to seven days from 10 days.
French authorities followed other countries such as the United States, which this week cut the isolation period to prevent disruptions in industries for lack of staff.
"This isolation could be lifted after five days in case of a negative test. Those who are not vaccinated will have to self-isolate for 10 days, with a possibility to come out of isolation after seven days under the same terms", Veran told newspaper le Journal du Dimanche published on Sunday.
He also said the new COVID-19 Omicron variant was too contagious to be stopped unless a "strict lockdown" was re-imposed.
In his New Year's Eve address, French President Emmanuel Macron said the next few weeks would be difficult but he stopped short of imposing new restrictive measures to contain the virus.
"We will remain vigilant throughout January", Veran said, adding the current Omicron-fuelled spread could be the last one.
France became the sixth country in the world to report more than 10 million COVID-19 infections since the outbreak of the pandemic, according to official data published on Saturday.
French health authorities reported 219,126 new confirmed cases in a 24-hour period, the fourth day in a row that the country has recorded more than 200,000 cases.
- Trump slams Afghan withdrawal 'incompetence' on 9/11 anniversary
- Biden: US will respond decisively if Russia further invades Ukraine
- Sudan’s prime minister resigns amid deadlock, anti-coup protests
- Italy reports 61,046 coronavirus cases on Sunday, 133 deaths
- England and Wales report 137,583 COVID-19 cases on Sunday