France puts fresh restriction on unvaccinated US tourists amid rise in Delta variant cases

France has become the latest European country to remove the United States from its safe travel list as COVID-19 cases surge due to the Delta variant. While taking to Twitter, the French Embassy in the US informed that beginning September 12, only vaccinated visitors will be allowed to visit for vacation. It added that non-vaccinated travellers can only visit for essential reasons and need a negative COVID-19 test. The French officials also said that the US tourists must isolate for seven days upon their arrival. 

According to a press note, the French government bumped the US and Israel from the country’s “green” list, down to “orange”. It is worth noting that currently, unvaccinated tourists just need to show a negative COVID-19 test to enter France. But, as the Delta variant continues to spread rapidly, the French government decided to remove the aforementioned nations from its list of safe countries. 

Entry policy for US arrivals

Meanwhile, the latest move follows restrictions imposed on US travellers from several other European destinations. Earlier, Spain changed its entry policy for arrivals from the US. It now requires US tourists to have a certificate providing double vaccination. 

Denmark and Netherlands have also recently updated their guidelines and they now require proof of vaccination for American travellers. Sweden, on the other hand, has banned all US arrivals regardless of vaccination status. Last week, Italy also began requiring all visitors, including those from the US, to show proof of a PCR or antigen COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of travel, regardless of whether they are vaccinated.

Back in summer, several European travel destinations had reopened their borders to Americans in the hope of attracting tourism dollars to boost COVID-battered economies. However, with the Delta variant spreading across the US, some countries, including Germany, had already begun restricting access to American travellers. But, Greece still insists that they will remain open regardless of traveller vaccination status. 

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