<p>PARIS &mdash; France will impose new entry restrictions on travelers from India to fight a contagious coronavirus variant spreading in that country, an official said Wednesday.</p>
<p>The restrictions come in addition to those previously announced regarding four other countries — Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Brazil — that will be implemented starting from Saturday. </p>
<p>Government spokesman Gabriel Attal also confirmed that France will lift its ban on domestic travel as planned on May 3, but will maintain its nighttime curfew, now in place from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Nonessential shops, closed since the partial lockdown of the country at beginning of April, won’t reopen before mid-May, he said.</p>
<p>France suspended all flights from Brazil earlier this month in an effort to curb the spread of a new COVID-19 variant found in the South American country. The temporary measure is to be replaced Saturday by tight travel restrictions regarding a list of now five countries, including a mandatory 10-day quarantine with police checks to ensure people arriving in France observe the requirement. </p>
<p>France is also requiring more stringent testing for the coronavirus on travelers from these countries, who will need to pass a mandatory antigen test upon their arrival, in addition to a pre-boarding PCR test.</p>
<p>A variant first identified in England is now responsible for about 80% of the virus cases in France, while the variants first seen in Brazil and South Africa make up less than 4% of French infections, Health Minister Olivier Veran said last week.</p>
<p>Attal said Wednesday that daily numbers of new infections are tending to decrease in the country — yet they still reach more than 30,000 people per day on average. With almost 6,000 COVID-19 patients in intensive care units and hospitals close to capacity, Attal said France may be close to reaching a “peak.” </p>
<p>He noted “encouraging” signs, but this is “not sufficient enough."</p>
<p>“The epidemic is decreasing twice as slow as in November especially due to the English variant,” he said. “The pressure on hospitals is extremely strong."</p>
<p>Nursery and primary schools will reopen on April 26 after a three-week closure as planned, followed by high schools on May 3, Attal said.</p>
<p>France intends to gradually reopen nonessential shops, some of its cultural places and cafe and restaurant terraces starting from mid-May. </p>
<p>President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday praised the acceleration of the vaccination campaign in the country, with more than 2.5 million jabs injected last week. </p>
<p>France has reported more than 100,00 deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
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