The French authorities introduced new COVID-19 measures on Monday in an effort to curb the unfold of the coronavirus, but stopped in need of imposing drastic restrictions earlier than New Year’s Eve.
Starting from subsequent week, large occasions will probably be restricted to 2,000 individuals indoors and 5,000 individuals outside. People will probably be requested to sit down down throughout concert events and prospects gained’t be allowed to face up in bars, French Prime Minister Jean Castex mentioned.
Eating and consuming will probably be banned in cinemas, theaters, sport amenities and public transportation, together with on long-distance routes. Working from residence will probably be obligatory a minimum of three days per week for workers whose job makes it potential, he added.
The new guidelines will probably be in place for a minimum of three weeks, he mentioned.
The transfer comes after France recorded greater than 100,000 virus infections in a single day for the primary time within the pandemic. President Emmanuel Macron held a particular virus videoconference with key authorities members from his vacation residence at Fort de Bregancon on the French Riviera.
The new measures stay much less strict than these put into place final December, when a nightly curfew was imposed throughout the nation.
Castex made primary suggestions for New Year’s Eve, together with avoiding large events and dinners, carrying a masks, ventilating the room and getting a COVID-19 check all “common-sense actions,” he mentioned.
He confirmed that colleges will reopen as scheduled on January 3 and mentioned political rallies gained’t be affected by the brand new guidelines for democratic causes earlier than April’s presidential election.
The French authorities seemed to be making an attempt to strike a stability between measures wanted to alleviate hospitals and hold the economic system working on the similar time, because the fast-spreading omicron variant complicates the scenario.
Visitors put on protecting face masks to respect the coronavirus illness (COVID-19) laws at a Christmas market in Tuileries Garden in Paris France. (Source: REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes)
“We are in a race against the clock,” Castex mentioned.
More than one in 100 individuals within the Paris area have examined optimistic prior to now week, in line with the regional well being service. Most new infections are linked to the omicron variant, which authorities consultants predict will probably be dominant in France within the coming days.
Macron can be cautious of the influence on public opinion of potential harsh measures lower than 4 months earlier than the presidential election, during which he’s anticipated to run.
Castex pressured that hospitals’ intensive care items aren’t saturated due to over 90 per cent of France’s adults being totally vaccinated in sharp distinction with the scenario final yr.
The authorities hopes to hurry up the nation’s booster marketing campaign by decreasing the delay in getting the shot from 4 to a few months after the earlier vaccine shot.
The authorities on Monday additionally offered a invoice aiming at making a “vaccine pass”, which can permit solely vaccinated individuals to enter public locations, together with eating places, bars and cinemas. The measure will probably be debated at Parliament subsequent month.
