France removed Turkey from the red list of countries for which it had imposed travel restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Ali Onaner, Turkey's ambassador to Paris, said on Twitter that Turkey went from red to orange on France’s travel restrictions list.
The mandatory 10-day quarantine process for passengers traveling from Turkey to France has been lifted.
Turkey also waits on flights to resume from its top tourist sources like Russia and the U.K.
France has classified countries according to the health situation and the level of vaccination among the general population. The list is divided into red, orange and green.
No travel restrictions apply to those coming from countries on the green list. Passengers who want to enter France from the green list are only required to conduct a COVID-19 test unless they have been vaccinated.
People who want to visit France from the orange list and are vaccinated against the virus do not need to indicate a reason for entering the country, but they must submit a negative test result.
France on Wednesday eased several restrictions, with authorities saying it is no longer always mandatory to wear masks outdoors and halting an 8-month nightly coronavirus curfew this weekend.
The surprise announcement comes as France is registering about 3,900 new virus infections a day, down from 35,000 during the March-April peak.
On the other hand, Turkey has been reporting below 6,000 daily cases on average over recent days as it ramped up its inoculation drive.
The country has administered over 37 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since it launched the mass vaccination campaign in mid-January.
Some 14 million people have been fully vaccinated and 23 million people have received a first dose.
Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced on Twitter a record 1.42 million doses were administered in just one day on Wednesday.
With the arrival of new doses, the country of 84 million this week declared all workers registered with the state’s social security system – as well as anyone above 35 – eligible for the vaccine. Mobile vaccination units were sent to industrial zones to help speed up the inoculation campaign.
