Paris: The Omicron variant is “spreading at lightning speed” in Europe and will likely become dominant in France by the start of next year, warned French Prime Minister Jean Castex.
The Prime Minister said this hour before France imposed strict travel restrictions on those entering from the United Kingdom.
Europe has already seen more than 89 million case and 1.5 million Covid-related deaths, according to the latest EU figures.
The warnings came as the UK reported a record number of Covid infections for a third day in a row – more than 93,000 – largely driven by Omicron.
On the other hand, France closed its borders to people travelling from the UK for business or tourism at 23:00 GMT on Friday, with huge queues forming at the Port of Dover and Eurostar terminals as people tried to enter before the ban came into effect.
It is not the only country tightening its controls. Earlier this week, Italy, Greece and Portugal announced that visitors from the EU will need to present a negative test result on arrival – even those who have been vaccinated.
Castex said the travel restrictions were part of a series of measures being brought in to stem the tide of infections. They include shortening the gap between the second and third dose of vaccine and requiring a full vaccination to enter restaurants and long-distance public transport.
Additionally, all official New Years Eve celebrations and firework displays have been cancelled.
Mr Castex also said the government would announce new steps to tackle vaccine hesitancy next year, saying it was “not acceptable that the refusal of a few million French people to be vaccinated puts the life of an entire country at risk”.
Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, Dutch health experts have said the country should go into a “strict” lockdown, local media has reported.
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