Update about COVID in France

If you want to monitor the COVID situation in France, simply download the TousAntiCovid app. It is available in English and it gives you a wealth of information about the current COVID conditions.

Antigen tests are very easy to obtain, any day of the week, at least in Paris, at almost any pharmacy. Cost is no more than 25€.

Here is the situation. There is a disconnect between how Covid was and is being handled in France as opposed to the US.. In France, almost 80% of the population is vaccinated. Therefore, hospitalizations remain low, few people are dying from it, but some form of the virus is circulating.

In my case, I'm out and about, and have symptoms that could be the virus or allergies, but when I test, I'm negative. But I could still have it but not enough to test positive because I'm vaccinated. There are probably a lot of people like me, and for most of the society it's considered endemic, something we can live with at this point. Our only rules are for visiting nursing homes, hospitals, and public transportation.And as a precaution, if I'm having an "allergy" attack, I stay away from vulnerable people and mask. However, if a variant arrives that puts a large number of people back into the hospitals and starts killing people, then we're back into a crisis instead of this endemic phase. At that point the government will re-implement the pass sanitaire (with four doses) and require masking. Nothing of that sort is expected any time soon.

So the disconnect comes with the States, requiring a test to enter,. Fewer individuals are vaccinated and protected from critical disease and hospitalization. There have been more waves of disease and death among still unvaccinated people compared to France. Meanwhile, in France, the testing centers and tents are fairly empty. People aren't required to test for most daily functions.

So here you are visiting in France, a country that is living with the virus, where the virus is often (but not always) harmless for the vaccinated, it's circulating, you inhale some particles into your nose, you're asymptomatic, you test positive, and your return is delayed.

I'm not sure if I've explained this clearly. But, the two societies are functioning differently. Few people are masked where I am in the south, but some are. I'll be masked the whole time on the train to Paris and while in Paris because I have to take a test to fly to the US, also.

We just got back 2 days ago and were amazed we didn't test positive before leaving. All you can do is your best. No matter the precautions you take, there is still the risk and you are just going to have to have a plan B in the event you test positive. Everything is packed, and since the mask mandate ended, no one is masked. The only exception is mass transit, and even then, when attendants aren't around, people pull their masks down. Cafes, shops, museums, transportation, everything is packed with people. Everything. People are people, and you are just going to have to understand that with travel opening up, everyone is out doing their thing as if there never was a pandemic to worry about. We were in the South of France, Provence, and Paris. It's all the same everywhere. Check with your airline to see what their requirements are. We have been reading United requires a 10-day quarantine no matter what. Others a 5-day with a certificate of recovery.

Bets above nailed it. People are sneezing, coughing, etc. and you feel vulnerable. Like she said, could be allergies, could be symptoms of COVID. No way of knowing. You can always buy some over-the-counter test kits and occasionally take one for some peace of mind, although there is the risk of false positives as well as false negatives.

We highly recommend you purchase the Abbott BINAX Now proctored tests before leaving. You can get them on Amazon. They HAVE to be the proctored tests. They are so easy, and you can test from your hotel room the day before. You just download the Navica app before leaving and set up your account. Take the tests with you un-opened, and when you are ready to test, make the call through your app and a proctor watches you take the test from your phone. They will watch you open the box, as you have to scan the code to them with your phone camera. In 15 minutes we had our results uploaded to our phone app, and emailed a certificate to us as well, which we uploaded to our Ready to Fly portal for our airline. We also printed at the hotel a copy of the certificate. It was that easy and took a lot of stress away as you mentioned above. Highly recommend this service.

Enjoy yourself, and don't stress too much. What will be, will be. Just take precautions, and have Plan B in place should you need it. Also, be sure to secure travel insurance that covers COVID quarantine in the event you have to stay longer.

Bets, I think you explained it very well!

I had terrible allergies last week and the week before in Paris. I had self tests with me so I used them every few days as well as the day I met up with friends who were starting a Rick tour and needed a negative test. I bought more from a pharmacie in Paris (5-pack) and continue to test every few days.

I’m sure the serial tests are not needed but it’s making me feel less anxious.

Many thanks to everyone who responded! You have greatly helped to put our minds more at ease. We wish you all safe and happy non-COVID travels in the future.

We arrived in Paris 2 days ago & 1 of us has risk factors re: Covid so we are being very careful. We are having take out in our hotel room or eating outside. We are using N95/99 masks whenever inside. So far I would say about 5-10% are wearing masks but enough to not feel out of place. We only plan to use buses, not the Metro, because of better airflow. CDG was our highest risk time with a packed passport control line and most people with flimsy blue masks. We had on well fitted N99 masks and are keeping our fingers crossed another few days. As Covid isn’t going away anytime soon and we don’t want to put our travel on hold indefinitely, we figured out the best way we could to minimize our risks and then fingers crossed as some of this is pure luck! We are very happy to be here and don’t feel particularly shortchanged by our efforts to stay safe.

since we arrived in early April one of our Paris friends has had COVID - his entire office got it when one person came to work coughing and sneezing and not masking. today a second friend whom we were to meet for drinks tomorrow is positive -- and her whole office is infected.

We will feel very lucky if we test negative when it is time to head back. We are careful and mask indoors (most people don't) but we also go out for dinner a couple of times a week and Paris restaurants are tight. Luckily we have a little grace on our apartment if we do test positive, assuming we don't end up hospitalized and die of course.

If you were VERY COVID conscious you would not be traveling internationally during a pandemic -- we got our jabs and take our chances. Being in the age group most likely to die, we are also in the age group for whom trips to Paris are not likely in another 5-10 years.

We are also currently in France and have been here for two weeks with more than a week left. We have similar experiences as previous commentators. When we left home we had planned to wear masks outdoors as well as indoors. It hasn't worked out that way. We spent a week in the Dordogne then moved on and are currently in Brittany. It was rare to see masks outdoors. Due to the statistics here, as previously pointed out, we stopped wearing masks outdoors. Thanks to the weather, we have only eaten indoors twice. We have rented apartments so don't have hotel issues. Most of our plans were for outdoors sightseeing but we did visit Ladcaux IV and on our tour of 20+ people only about eight of us were masked.
We do mask up in stores.

We also brought a supply of home tests as well as the BinaxNow tests for our return. We are testing every few days and can only hope our negative results continue. We're with Janetetc.,in the age group most at risk for bad outcomes. We used BinaxNow for our return from Spain in March and tested negative but after being home a couple of days we were positive, luckily minor symptoms. So precautions only go so far.

People here are going on with their lives, some masked, most not. We feel the risks here are fewer than at home, the difference being that we don't eat out when home. We're taking reasonable precautions and hoping for the best.

We are currently in Paris. For us, I feel we are much more at risk here than at home where people at least social distance. We are avoiding crowded restaurants, but yesterday we were jammed together in long lines going up and down the Eiffel Tower. We opted for the Big Bus for 2 days of transportation and wore masks on it, even on the open, upper level. I knew the risks coming in, and all we can do is remain diligent.

Thank you all again! We are still very paranoid but feel that we can now make a more informed decision. Your stories have been EXTREMELY HELPFUL!

I’ll just add one more thing. I picked up a 5-pack of home covid tests at a pharmacy in Paris. I thought the directions might be in English or that I could muddle thru the directions in French. Uh, no and no. Too many unfamiliar words in French. I DID find directions on YouTube for the brand I got and that has worked great. The 5-pack is in a small rectangular box and much less bulky than the Binax home kits I brought with me. In retrospect I’d not have hauled those bulky boxes with me.

BTW, I had emailed Abbott Labs to ask if I could repack the non-proctored test kits into something smaller and they said no that it could cause damage.

Pam, we got those same tests. We muddle through the French and figured it out. They were easy to use. Sure brought peace of mind for random testing.

We have to make an unplanned trip back to the States and I was pleased to learn that, if you live in France and are fully vaccinated and boosted, the antigen test is offered at no cost. I expected to have to pay, based on what I've read, but the guy at the pharmacie said it was gratuit.

Now my worry is what if I test positive in the U.S. before my return with so many unvaccinated people around and little mask wearing in some places.

Where I live, in Normandie, I would put mask wearing in stores at about 50 percent. It was 100 percent this time last year, with security guys enforcing it (saw one literally running down an aisle to chase down a guy at E. Leclerc store with no mask).

Outside, probably only 10 to 20 percent of people wear masks in towns. At pharmacies, you have to wear a mask.

We’re leaving today (tested negative) after spending three weeks in eastern France and Paris.

We had our second booster two weeks before leaving the US.

Only wore a mask on trains and the Lyon & Paris Metros, rest of the time was life as normal, most people didn’t wear masks, and we noticed most who did were tourists. All this when the COVID rate here was ten times as high as home.

Felt like life as normal again. We even caught a regular old fashioned cold in the middle of the trip, but the tests we took mid trip were all negative.

That's it exactly, Dave. And just because you tested negative doesn't mean it wasn't COVID, or a cold, or allergies. And I do see quite old people with masks, not just Americans who have to swab before the return.

The doctors would like people to mask up, and we'll see what happens once the elections are finished, particularly in September. Rules could return.

We each took two tests, once when each of us had obvious cold symptoms, and then again two days later. My wife had cold symptoms five days before I did, so I am pretty confident neither of us caught COVID, or if it was, it was exactly like a regular cold, nothing worse.

That, and we took our return home tests yesterday, again negative.

We just got back after two weeks. Masks are mandatory on public transportation and we saw 99.9% compliance. There is always one or two people who don't seem to do it.

We saw a few masks on museums and on the streets, but a definite minority. However, nobody should feel self-conscious about wearing a mask. It's just part of the landscape. I notice primarily surgical masks or KN-95s, no cloth or homemade masks.

We took several Binax Now tests and tested every four days and then did the eMed test for return. All negative. We were also on a 7 night river cruise on the Seine followed by a three night land tour extension. Nobody in our group got COVID. I think if you are fully vaccinated and take precautions, you will be fine.

I just got back from Paris. Masks were mandatory on public transportation. Only 1 or 2 people didn't fully cover their noses with their masks. There is a 150 euro fine if caught without a mask. On the street few wear masks but there always seemed to be a breeze. I didn't worry at all. I actually was pretty careless because I can't breathe in the mask if I'm exerting myself at all I was with all the walking. I caught a cold and was worried that I had covid so I got a test 3 days before I left, to ease my mind, then again the day before. I was negative. There are pharmacies on every block almost, at least where I stayed. They charged $16-$18. It was not an expensive neighborhood, but I really liked it.

In places like Versaille where people are packed together like sardines, you definitely would want to wear a mask if you're at risk. I really can't remember, but I don't think they required them. It's very hot in museums and palaces which makes you really not want to wear a mask, so dress in layers so you can shed clothes when there.
All in all, if you're at risk, definitely wear a mask except out in the breeze, otherwise I wouldn't bother except where they are required or places like Versaille that are tightly packed. Most Parisians are vaccinated.

By the way, for those who followed my posts before my trip, it only rained lightly, 2 days in Italy. The weather was beautiful. So much worry about what to take, but I suppose it could of turned out differently. I'm so glad I didn't lug around the shoe covers for the rain I had intended to. I was very lucky with the weather.

We just returned last Tuesday. My 76 yr old husband got Covid on the Rhone River Cruise portion of our trip, week 3 of our month in France. Of course, we had to leave the boat, but they helped us get settled. He was pretty sick, very weak and with fever 3 days, then after drenching night sweats woke up feeling well. After 3 days with no fever we both tested negative and were able to return home. I was amazed I didn't get it. I have also posted about the Paxlovid situation, it is very difficult to get in France in the time frame required for it to be helpful. Just know that going in. I agree with an earlier post. We are older and felt if we didn't go now, we might never make it. In spite of his illness we had a grand time, and are trying to decide where we want to go next!

Now my worry is what if I test positive in the U.S. before my return

Well Sammy — here's the thing: you don't have to test in the United States to come to France.

France removed its requirement for negative tests for fully vaccinated people (as long as you have an mRNA booster) a couple of months ago.

Hello, Do all Abbott BINAX Now tests offer the proctor option? Or am I looking for a certain version of the BINAX Now test. Thank you!

France has over 85% of the population vaccinated and Covid requirements are pretty relaxed.

In the past there were definitely two versions of the test (and I think the proctored version cost quite a bit more), so it was important to buy the right one. I've never gone looking for a proctored test, but it was said the boxes were marked differently. Perhaps you can find pictures online.

Per Tousanticovid:
79.6% is the exact percentage of the population age 5 and over with two doses

59.2% is the exact percentage of the population age 5 and over with at least one booster

@Paisha-there are 2 separate BiNax tests. The one you can buy in a local pharmacy is marked OTC for Over the Counter and does not have the availability to be proctored.

Here is a YouTube video description of tge 2 test kits.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=felpqrm6lzI

We bought our proctored tests online through Amazon and the Abbott website? Have never seen the proctored ones here in pharmacies.