France’s Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle airport has begun compulsory testing on arrival for passengers from 16 countries where the coronavirus virus is circulating widely. It comes as the number of daily Covid-19 cases continues to increase across the country.
French authorities enforced this policy of Covid-19 tests on arrival on August 1, after establishing a list of 16 high-risk countries where the Covid-19 virus is circulating widely. This list includes the United States, Brazil, Algeria, Turkey, India, Israel, South Africa, Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Panama, Madagascar, Peru, Qatar, Oman and Serbia.
There are currently three Covid-19 testing centres at Paris’ Charles-de-Gaulle airport. Two are located near the Arrivals Gate at Terminals 2E and 2A. The third one – where compulsory on-arrival tests are conducted – is located in the customs zone at Terminal 2E, near the baggage reclaim.
After registering with ID and an email address, people get tested in small cubicles behind the counter. Medical personnel in full protective gears insert a swab into the nasal passage to gather a sample for testing. The sample is then sent to a lab, which delivers the test results in 24 to 48 hours.
Each airport testing centre conducts hundreds of Covid-19 tests per day. The ones located near the Arrivals Gates actually get a large number of outbound travellers – people who will travel from Paris to another destination where Covid-19 tests are also compulsory.
The airport testing system still requires goodwill from passengers to work efficiently. Passengers from high-risk countries face no quarantine as they wait for the results of the Covid-19 test they took on arrival.
Read more via France 24
