France restricting travel from Britain because of omicron

French officials said Thursday that travel from Great Britain will be restricted due to the rapid spread of the omicron variant of COVID-19 in the U.K. 

Only those who have designated reasons to travel will be permitted to enter France from Britain after midnight on Saturday, Reuters reported, adding that anyone who arrives from Britain will have to self-isolate. Truck drivers are exempted, however, due amid supply chain concerns. 

Business travel will also be heavily restricted and everyone coming from the U.K. will need a negative COVID-19 test that is less than 24 hours old and will need to test again when they arrive in France and isolate for 48 hours after they receive a negative result, the news service added. 

French Prime Minister Jean Castex said in a statement that the ban is meant to combat “the extremely rapid spread of the omicron variant in the U.K.,” reports The Associated Press.

Some U.K. officials, however, are suggesting that the effort is pointless, as omicron has now spread globally.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesperson, Max Blain, said that the ban in France “wouldn’t be effective or proportionate,”  the AP noted. 

The U.K. saw a record number of daily coronavirus cases Wednesday, 79,000, surpassing the previous record in January by about 10,000 cases. 

At least one person has died following infection from the omicron variant in the U.K. The chief executive of the U.K. Health Security Agency said Wednesday that omicron is “probably the most significant threat” since the pandemic’s beginning and warned officials that cases are going to continue to surge.

–Updated on Dec. 19 at 7:10 a.m.