France will ban tourists from Saturday.

France is set to ban tourists travelling from the UK from this weekend due to the spread of the Omicron variant. The country will now only allow travel from the UK for essential purposes, such as French citizens and European Union nationals returning to France from the UK. Those permitted to return will need to provide a negative test. Quarantine would also be enforced. The government said in a statement that tourists will be banned from entering the country from midnight on Saturday, and that there will be a "requirement to have an essential reason to travel to, or come from, the UK, both for the unvaccinated and vaccinated." "Faced with the extremely rapid spread of the Omicron variant in the UK, the government has chosen to reinstate the need for an essential reason for travel from and to the UK," they said. The government added that "people cannot travel for touristic or professional reasons." The UK recorded a record 78,610 cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday as the Omicron variant continues to spread across the country and the rest of Europe. Here in Ireland, the government are due to meet with NPHET today to discuss the possibility of introducing further restrictions before Christmas.  Chief Medical Officer Tony Holohan has urged the public to "avoid Christmas in isolation" by reducing their contacts before next week. “Today marks ten days before Christmas," he said yesterday. "If you contract Covid-19 today your isolation period will include Christmas Day. This can be avoided by ensuring you take every step possible to protect yourself. “If you are planning to spend Christmas with older family members, anyone immunocompromised or vulnerable to the effects of Covid-19, it is best that you take precautions from today. "Avoid crowds, limit your contacts, work from home unless absolutely necessary, risk assess your environments and make safe choices over the coming days and weeks." 4,235 new cases of the virus were reported in Ireland on Wednesday.