France asks citizens to avoid Spain, Portugal for summer holidays over Covid fears

The French government has said the Delta variant represents around 40 per cent of new infections in France

File: Passengers queue up at Roissy Charles de Gaulle airport, near Paris, on 25 April, 2021 (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

France has advised its citizens to avoid Spain and Portugal for their summer holidays due to a spike in the number of Covid-19 cases triggered by the Delta variant.

The Delta variant of Covid-19 was first detected in India and has now spread to at least 96 countries. The World Health Organisation has warned that it will become the dominant variant globally in the coming months.

French junior European affairs minister Clement Beaune told France 2 TV: “To those who have not yet booked their holidays, I say avoid Spain and Portugal as destinations. It is prudent advice, a recommendation.”

The ministry later said that the travel remains authorised, and “we are sending a message of caution on Portugal and Catalonia which are strongly impacted by the Delta variant,” according to Reuters.

The French government had said on Wednesday that the Delta variant represents around 40 per cent of the new coronavirus infections in France.

Government spokesman Gabriel Attal said “this variant is dangerous and quick and wherever it is present, it can ruin the summer.”

Portugal reported more than 3,000 daily infections for the first time since February, according to Wednesday data, taking the overall case tally to 896,026.

The government has urged caution as the Delta variant accounts for nearly 90 per cent of new cases in the country.

Battling a surge in cases, Spain’s Catalonia region will impose curbs on nightlife and shut down nightclubs from Friday. It will also require a negative Covid-19 test or proof of vaccination if people want to participate in outdoor activities which have more than 500 attendees, according to AFP.

Spain’s national infection rate over the past 14 days soared to 252 cases per 100,000 people on Wednesday from 117.2 a week ago. The country has recorded more than 3 million infections so far and over 80,000 deaths, data from Johns Hopkins University showed.