(Paris) Strengthening of the health protocol at school, closing of nightclubs for 4 weeks, facilitating the vaccination of 65 years and over: France announced Monday evening new restrictions in the face of the outbreak of COVID-19.
Thanks to a very contagious Delta variant and a vaccine effectiveness that is dulling over time, the number of new daily cases now stands in the tens of thousands with 42,252 cases on Sunday.
More worryingly, the number of hospitalized patients is now over 11,000, a threshold that had not been reached since the end of August, and several hospitals are on the alert.
To curb the circulation of the virus, we must “keep our vaccine shield and even amplify and strengthen it”, recommended the French Prime Minister, during a press conference.
Thus, all French people aged 65 and over will be able to obtain a booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine without an appointment.
In addition, the French government has said it is considering opening the vaccination “to all children” from 5 to 11 years old, “on a voluntary basis, if possible by the end of the year”.
Currently, only the 360,000 children who are at risk of developing severe forms of the disease (for example, suffering from chronic liver disease, chronic heart and respiratory disease, or obesity) can be vaccinated.
As the incidence rate explodes in children, the health protocol has been raised to level 3 at school, which will make it compulsory to wear a mask in schoolyards, the limitation of contact sports and a new organization to avoid stirring in the canteen.
Finally, France is closing “nightclubs for the next four weeks” until “early January”, added Jean Castex, who also called on the French to “lift their feet” in social interactions.
These announcements come in a context of epidemic resumption in Europe, where several countries have chosen a more severe line.
Germany and Italy will thus impose restrictions on the unvaccinated. Austria lives, until December 11, a new partial confinement.
Belgium is going to close its primary schools a week in advance for the Christmas holidays, thus hoping to curb the dazzling spread of the Delta variant.
To make matters worse, the spread of the possibly more contagious and vaccine-resistant Omicron variant weighs like a sword of Damocles.
Twenty-five cases are now confirmed in France, according to the latest official report from the health authorities. A balance sheet called to evolve quickly.
Nearly 120,000 people have died from COVID-19 in France since the start of the pandemic. Almost 90% of the population aged over 12 is vaccinated, one of the highest vaccination coverage in the European Union.