Passengers arriving from France will be exempt from the UK coronavirusquarantine measures laid out by Boris Johnson in Sunday evening's televised address, Downing Street has confirmed.
The prime minister announced last night that "it will soon be the time... to impose quarantine on people coming into this country by air" to prevent infection rates rising.
"No quarantine measures would apply to travellers coming from France at this stage," Mr Johnson's office said.
After the British prime minister spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron on the phone, both countries released statements saying that any measures would be taken in a “concerted and reciprocal manner”.
A working group between the two governments will ensure further consultation over the coming weeks, the statements added.
The British prime minister’s comments about new quarantine rules did not mention arrivals by sea or whether it would apply to passengers on flights from the Republic of Ireland.
There is no clear indication yet from the government on the duration of the quarantine or when it will come into effect.
However, there have been reports that the quarantine will be for 14 days and Airlines UK said it had been told by the government that it would be enforced by the end of May or early June.
Dr Peter Drobac, a medical doctor specialising in infectious diseases and an academic at the University of Oxford, said the quarantine idea would need a lot of careful planning.
"All the experience that we have from the countries that have been trying to do this suggests that it's really hard and it's really fragile,: he said.
"There's got to be a lot of infrastructure in place to make that effective.”
Dr Drobac said it would have been “smart” to introduce the quarantine plan in February and early March, stressing it might have made a “really big difference”.
France said that any quarantine measures it implements would not initially apply to EU countries or the UK.
On Monday, France started to ease its lockdown, allowing people to engage in activities like visiting shops and getting their hair cut.
Agencies have contributed to this report
