PARIS — France is to tighten entry conditions for people traveling from the United Kingdom in order to limit the spread of the Omicron variant, a French government spokesman said on Thursday.

The new measures will be "more drastic" than those which exist at the moment, Gabriel Attal told BFMTV and RMC.

Tests already required to enter France from the UK will have to have been carried out within the previous 24 hours, instead of the current 48 hours.

In what appears to amount to a ban on anything other than non-essential travel, reasons will be "limited to (French) residents and their families," Attal added. Travel for "tourism or business for people who are not residents in France will be limited".

People arriving in France from the UK will also need to self-isolate for seven days, in a place that travellers can choose, "with a check by the security forces". However, quarantine can be "lifted after 48 hours" if a test carried out upon arrival in France is negative.

The spokesman added that people will need to register via an app that will generate an isolation order from the prefecture.

The French prime minister's office will give more details "within the next few hours," Attal said on Thursday morning.

Currently, arrivals in France from the UK have to provide a negative COVID-19 test result, whether or not they are vaccinated. They can be either a PCR or a lateral flow test -- although home tests are not valid -- and proof must be in the form of a recognised certificate.

Attal did not specify whether both types of test will still be valid, only mentioning the reduced validity period from 48 to 24 hours. BFMTV said it understood that both tests will still be acceptable, adding that the measures are expected to come into force on Saturday.

The announcement comes the day after the UK registered 78,610 daily COVID-19 cases — the highest number since the beginning of the pandemic as the highly transmissible new Omicron variant spreads.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last Sunday that an Omicron "tidal wave" was expected to hit the country. In some areas, the number of Omicron cases is doubling every two days, he added on Wednesday.

So far, France has detected 240 cases of the Omicron variant on its territory. — Euronews