Jakarta, Jan 7 (IANS): Indonesia will ban entry for foreign travellers from France starting from Friday following rising Omicron variant infections in the European country, according to the latest regulation on travel restriction released by the Indonesian Covid-19 Task Force.

France has been added to Indonesia's travel ban list following 13 other countries including South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Lesotho, Mozambique, Eswatini, Malawi, Angola, Norway, Denmark, and the UK, Xinhua news agency reported.

The travel ban is imposed because those countries have recorded a significant number of reports on local infections of Omicron variant, or because they are geographically located near South Africa, where the Omicron variant was first detected.

As of Wednesday, the Health Ministry has recorded a total of 254 omicron infections in Indonesia, including 15 local transmissions.

The regulation also states that Indonesian citizens with travel histories from the 14 countries are allowed to enter Indonesia, but must undergo a 10-day quarantine.

Meanwhile, Indonesian citizens and foreigners from other than the listed countries must undergo a seven-day quarantine.