The U.S. borders reopened to travelers fully vaccinated on November 8th. Yet, because of the emergence of the Omicron variant, the country has decided to toughen entrance requirements by requiring a compulsory negative test from less than 24 hours prior to departure. But shall new restrictions be expected? This Monday December 6, the United States have decided to place France in maximum risk alert (level 4) not recommending Americans to travel to the country a few days prior to the Holidays.
"Avoid travel to France", the State department asked American citizens in a new report. "If you must travel to France, make sure you are fully vaccinated before travel" the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) required this Monday evening.
"Because of the current situation in France, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants", they added.
France is not the only country placed on level 4. Several countries are involved in this maximum alert namely Cyprus, Jordan, Andorra, Portugal and Liechtenstein.
To date, France reports over 12,000 patients hospitalized and about 2,200 of them in ICU. Faced with the strong epidemic increase, the French government has decided to reinforce the health protocol in schools and close nightclubs.
