End of tunnel soon? Thanks to the pandemic situation showing encouraging signs, the government will present to France a detailed timetable for the gradual lifting of the final restrictions on Thursday evening.
At 7:00 pm, Prime Minister Jean Casteux will hold a press conference with Health Minister Olivier Véran to present the “decisions” taken in the morning during a Defense and National Security Council, the spokesman announced. Government, Gabriel Atal.
The United Kingdom, which was hit by an Omicron wave two weeks before France, has announced the lifting of most of its restrictions, even promising an end to isolation for those infected.
France probably won’t go that far.
Gabriel Atal specifically mentioned nightclubs “which are still closed” and which “wait for clear possibilities”. There are also “prospects for actors in cultural or sporting life” related to the still applicable gauge (2,000 people maximum indoors, 5,000 outdoors).
And also for companies, regarding mandatory teleworking.
The Labor Minister, Elizabeth Bourne, has already announced for social partners on Wednesday that the government will extend the rule providing for a minimum of three days of telecommuting per week “for another two weeks” in the event of COVID-19. making plans.
A source close to the executive told AFP on Wednesday that the government would probably ask the French for a two-week effort before lifting the restrictions if the situation improves.
On the vaccination pass, which will go into effect soon, “here too we are waiting for clarification on the French calendar and the conditions under which it can be withdrawn as soon as the health conditions allow”, Mr Atal specified.
– Expect a peak –
“While many were inviting us to lock down the country, as the holidays were approaching, we stayed and we were right,” he said, noting the lack of intensive care admissions, even though The pandemic is still in expansion”.
“In France, we experienced two waves at the same time: the delta wave that triggered a severe decline, which explains why the number of people hospitalized in intensive care is decreasing. And the omicron wave where a peak is expected. May be what may happen soon,” he said.
The executive is facing a paradoxical situation: If the number of positive cases continues to rise – and on average over the past seven days to break records at more than 300,000 daily contaminations – pressure on resuscitation services is eased.
Currently, according to the French Public Health Agency, 27,230 people are hospitalized with a positive COVID diagnosis, a figure that has been rising steadily since the start of the year as contamination climbs.
On the other hand, the situation is easing for critical care services, which have the most severe cases. They currently welcome 3,852 people, a figure that has been declining for several days.
This condition is explained by the features of the Omicron variant, which, of course, is much more contagious than its predecessors, but also gives less severe forms of the disease. This entails shorter hospital stays and less frequent intensive care admissions.
The government spokesman also praised the “French sense of responsibility” and “very extensive vaccination coverage” in France, which “played its role as a shield perfectly”.
The population also continues to test itself at large, even though the numbers are dwindling slightly. More than 11 million COVID-19 screening tests were conducted last week, slightly below the record set since the start of the school year in January and the first time since All Saints Day.
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