France is not currently planning to impose any new Covid restrictions to limit the spread of the Omicron variant, a Government spokesman has said.
It comes as the country is dealing with a current wave of infections, with 130 cases of the Omicron variant confirmed.
French Government spokesman Gabriel Attal said on Tuesday for now, there were no plans to change the current measures to curb the spread of the virus.
The French government is constantly monitoring the situation, Mr Attal added, and is looking at how the situation unfolds in other countries, such as the UK, when asked if it was considering travel restrictions.
Last week, France ordered nightclubs to close for four weeks in order to tackle the spread that is putting the country’s hospitals under strain.
Those attending schools and colleges have also seen tighter social distancing and mask wearing rules imposed, the French Government has stopped short of imposing stricter measures for the general population or targeting the non-vaccinated, like many of its European neighbours.
Other coronavirus measures employers encouraging its staff to work from home, and health passes to be required in more settings such as restaurants at Christmas markets.
France’s Prime Minister Jean Castex said during a televised address last week: “The situation demands an individual as well as a collective effort, but it’s no longer the time for lockdowns.”
Similarly to the UK, the French Government is relying on the vaccine as its primary defence against Covid-19.
Mr Castex said people over-65 will be able to get their booster jabs without an appointment, after the Government previously announced that getting a third dose of Covid-19 vaccine will be required from mid-January for people to keep their health passes.
Earlier in December, an adviser warned that Omicron could be the dominant Covid-19 strain in France by the end of January.
“We should see a progressive rise of the Omicron variant, which will take over from Delta,” possibly by the end of January, Jean-Francois Delfraissy said.
