JEDDAH — Fully vaccinated travelers from Saudi Arabia will no longer have to go into quarantine upon their arrival in France, according to new rules unveiled on Friday by the French government. Welcoming travelers from Saudi Arabia to his country, France's Ambassador to the Kingdom Ludovic Pouille tweeted on Friday, saying: "Dear friends from #KSA, starting #June9th, if you are vaccinated and you have a valid visa, you can travel to France with a PCR test realized less than 72 hours before departure & with no quarantine upon arrival! Welcome all! The new measures, which will come into effect on June 9, are part of the French government's efforts to ease international travel restrictions in a bid to revive the country's economy which is reeling from the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. However, fully inoculated visitors will still be required to produce a negative test result — although a previous requirement for them to quarantine will be removed, and non-essential travel will no longer be banned. Saudi Arabia along with the UK and the US are classed as orange under a "traffic lights" travel system France is introducing, with countries categorized according to their health situations. Non-vaccinated visitors will need to provide a vital reason for entry, a negative test, and will also have to quarantine for seven days. "Green" countries include all EU countries as well as Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Israel, Lebanon, and Singapore. No vital reason for entry will be needed, and only non-vaccinated travelers will still have to take a PCR or antigen test of fewer than 72 hours. Countries classed "red" include South Africa, Brazil, India and Turkey. Whether vaccinated or not, all visitors will need to provide a vital reason for entry, a negative test, and a quarantine period of seven to 10 days will be imposed upon arrival. — With inputs from Euronews
