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Jersey to impose quarantine on travellers from France

Jersey will quarantine arrivals from France for at least five days and during that time test the travellers twice for coronavirus, the British crown dependency's government told AFP on Thursday.

Published: 13 August 2020 15:48 CEST
Jersey to impose quarantine on travellers from France
The Jersey capital of St Helier. Photo: AFP

Travellers will remain in isolation until they have tested negative for coronavirus, in hotel rooms provided for them that they will have to pay for.

“The French will have to self-isolate at their hotel for at least five days, and even probably seven, as they will have to wait for the results of the second test,” the Jersey Tourism Office told AFP.

“Tests conducted abroad are not considered to be valid for countries classified as orange,” it said.

The measures come as French authorities warned on Tuesday that the coronavirus circulation is picking up again and pushed for more widespread use of masks.

According to media reports, the UK is considering adding France to the Covid-19 quarantine list in light of France's increasing infection rates.

On Wednesday France reported 2,524 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours – a post-lockdown record.

Jersey placed France in the orange category on August 9th. Countries are classified green, orange and red depending on the evolving health situation in each territory.

French tourists who refuse to be tested will have to self-isolate for 14 days.

The measures do not include children under the age of 11.

Fines for offenders could be £1,000 (€1,106) and may even hit £10,000 (€11,060).

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TRAVEL NEWS

Revealed: The ’15-minute rule’ on French trains

A recent update to SNCF Voyageurs' general terms and conditions of sale requires passengers to take their seats within 15 minutes of departure, or risk losing it.

Published: 18 September 2024 16:21 CEST
Revealed: The '15-minute rule' on French trains

“Failure to claim a reserved seat within 15 minutes of the train’s departure from the station indicated on the ticket may result in the loss of the reserved seat and, more generally, of any seat,” reads a September update of the general terms and conditions of sale.

Consumer watchdog UFC Que Choisir spotted the update to SNCF’s T&Cs earlier this month. 

Its meaning is clear. If your seat is left vacant during this period – for example if you have decided to head for a coffee in the buffet car before finding your seat – it can potentially be reallocated to another passenger.

But, it turns out, it’s all a bit of a storm in a teacup. The intention, according to SNCF Voyageurs, is not to catch out unwitting customers. It told BFM TV that it was intended to “facilitate the repositioning of customers on board in the event of a passenger’s absence”.

And it has its origins in a 2021 European regulation that allows passengers travelling without a reserved seat to claim one if it is free, or considered to be free.

In truth, not many passengers board TGVs without a reserved seat – when you book your ticket you are usually allocated a number ticket. When booking online you can select whether you want to be upstairs or downstairs, in a window or aisle seat or choose to request a seat next to a friend. If you are travelling in first class you can select the precise seat you would like.

But it can happen – for example, if a traveller has missed a connection, they will be invited to board the next train in that case will not have a reserved seat. Likewise if a train has been cancelled, passengers will usually be invited to take the next one.

Equally, the vast majority of TGV users find their seats as a matter of priority, rather than heading immediately for the buffet car. Furthermore, SNCF Voyageurs said that the rule has been in place for some time, and that staff on the train would seek to find a solution in cases of conflict. 

“No new instructions have been given to train managers, and the inclusion of this practice in the T&Cs is for information purposes only.”

The rule applies only to the high-speed TGV trains – both InOui and the budget OuiGo lines – but not the InterCité or local TER lines. On TER trains seats are usually not reserved so are allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis (or possibly on a ‘standing in the corridor’ basis if you are on an especially busy train).

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