PARIS — The French government said it will remove Japan and six other countries from a travel ban imposed on non-European Union nations since late January to prevent the spread of variants of the novel coronavirus, Kyodo reported.

While the travel ban targeting non-essential trips will be dropped as of Friday for the seven countries, travelers between France and these countries will still be required to present documents proving they tested negative for the coronavirus 72 hours prior to departure, the French Foreign Ministry said.

The six other countries include Australia, Britain and South Korea.

The ministry noted the variant of the coronavirus that was detected in Britain has been rampant in France, while also taking into account the situations in the seven countries.

On Jan. 31, France imposed the travel restrictions on countries outside the EU. The measure will continue to apply to non-EU countries other than the seven. — SPA