The Omicron variant should “become dominant from the start of 2022” in France, estimated Jean Castex. In this context, a health defense council was held in Matignon on Friday, December 17. At the end of the latter, the Prime Minister announced a series of measures and restrictions, the objective of which is to stop the spread of the virus and to avoid saturating hospitals and intensive care units.
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“We do not yet know everything about this variant: while its speed of spread appears to be much higher, it does not seem to be more dangerous than the Delta variant and the data available to us indicate that complete vaccination coverage with the booster dose we protects well against severe forms of the disease“, he added. Here is what to remember from his speech.
The health pass will become a vaccination pass
At the start of the year, the health pass will become a “vaccine pass”, which can only be activated with a complete vaccination schedule and no longer with a simple negative test, announced the Prime Minister. “From now on, only the vaccination will be valid in the pass”, he insisted, adding that“a bill will be[it] submitted to Parliament at the beginning of January, in particular to transform the health pass into a vaccination pass, and tighten the conditions of control and sanctions against false passes.“According to information from France Televisions, this pThe bill will be presented on January 5 in the Council of Ministers.
This vaccine pass will apply to places of leisure (such as restaurants and cinemas), but not businesses, France Télévisions learned from Matignon. Moreover, the question of extending it to transport will be decided during the parliamentary debate.
“We assume that we are putting pressure on the unvaccinated, because the critical care and resuscitation services in our hospitals are mostly filled with unvaccinated people.”, explained Jean Castex. in parallel “The so-called ‘going towards’ approaches will be amplified in the direction of populations who may have missed out on vaccination due to ignorance or because they are traditionally the furthest removed from the healthcare system”, he continued.
Still with a view to strengthening the vaccination obligation, the Minister of Health Olivier Véran said on Saturday that a booster dose would be mandatory for caregivers and firefighters from January 30.
The delay before the recall will be reduced to four months
The vaccine booster against Covid “will be possible as soon as we have passed the period of four months compared to the previous injection and no more than five months”, announced Jean Castex.
Restrictions on New Years Eve
Town halls must give up concerts and fireworks on New Year’s Eve, during which alcohol consumption on public roads will be prohibited in order to limit the distribution of the Omicron variant, the Prime Minister announced. “I appeal to everyone’s responsibility to find other modalities than large gatherings”, he said, adding to understand “the frustration of having to limit oneself in these festive moments”.
Following this declaration, the mayor of Paris announced on Saturday the cancellation of the fireworks and concerts planned on the Champs-Elysées for New Year’s Eve.
Recommended tests before meeting
The Prime Minister called on the French to take responsibility for the family reunion. “PAs soon as a specific number is reached, let us rely on a principle of common sense: the fewer there are, the less risks we take. Let’s avoid big parties, big gatherings, big dinners “, added Jean Castex.
He has invitesé “each and everyone, vaccinated or not, to test themselves in the hours preceding” moments of celebration, with a PCR test, antigen or a self-test. A considered time, the free use of these self-tests was not retained by the government.
Overtime pay at the hospital will be doubled
The remuneration for overtime worked in the hospital will be “multiplied by two” starting Monday. “We asked the city professionals to mobilize to ensure the continuity of care during this period” and “Measures will also be deployed for our emergency services, but what our caregivers expect from us is that we be careful and above all that we vaccinate ourselves”, added the head of government.