Coronavirus: the government has not announced new restrictive measures

Prime Minister Jean Castex and several members of the government took stock of the coronavirus epidemic and the restrictions in force on Thursday.

Containment avoided, at least for the moment. The epidemic situation « does not yet justify » a new confinement, supported Jean Castex this Thursday, February 4. While France has had to respect a 6 p.m. curfew for several weeks, and after the announcement of travel restrictions on Friday January 29, the government held its weekly press briefing on the Covid-19 epidemic at 6 p.m.

A few days before the February holidays for part of the country, the Prime Minister assured that « the high figures of the epidemic (20,000 new cases per day, 1,600 hospitalizations and 320 deaths on average over a week) are relatively stable ». A situation which « does not justify to this day », a new confinement. Nevertheless, « if we are forced to do so in the event of a sharp and rapid deterioration in the situation, we would not hesitate to take our responsibilities », warned the head of government. Thus, « the time is not for relaxation but for maximum respect for the rules », because « it is enough for a small number to free themselves from it for the coronavirus to prosper ». And to hammer out: « The objective that we must set ourselves is not to delay this deadline, it is to do everything possible to avoid it. »

Prime Minister Jean Castex was accompanied by Minister of Health Olivier Véran and Minister of Labor, Elisabeth Borne, but also by Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Economy.

The health situation remains tense, in particular because of the circulation of variants of Covid-19, which worries the health authorities. While the British variant had been measured in France at 3.3% of positive cases on January 7 and 8, it stood at nearly 14% on January 27, said the Minister of Health.

Mayotte reconfined for three weeks

Less than an hour before the start of the press conference, the prefect of Mayotte announced the total re-containment of the department for three weeks. This will take effect from Friday February 5. This decision is linked to the explosion of the epidemic figures in this territory. There were 1,232 new cases in a week and the incidence rate has skyrocketed from 50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants on January 1 to 440 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in early February. The South African and British variants have been spotted in Mayotte. Since January 28, three municipalities were already re-defined and the others subject to a curfew from 6 p.m.

Winter holidays are starting, for some areas

« The winter holidays begin, for certain areas, tomorrow evening. We have chosen not to limit travel between regions. Such a measure would have been justified if the circulation of the virus was very uneven depending on the region. It is not the case, « added the head of government.

« France, Unesco has just recognized, is one of the countries which have managed to keep schools open as long as possible since the start of the epidemic, » said Jean Castex. « I tell you, this choice and all the consequences that it entailed for our children first, for the economic and social life of the Nation then, is to be honored by our country and the whole community educational institution to whom I want to express my gratitude and my deep attachment.  »

To maintain this objective, checks have multiplied and some 177,000 fines for non-compliance with the curfew have been drawn up since its establishment on December 15, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Thursday. « 1.9 million checks » have been carried out since that date, he added.

In addition, Jean Castex invited the French who will take winter holidays to « the greatest caution » to avoid contagions. « We have chosen not to limit travel between regions » but « we must avoid any relaxation » of barrier gestures, « as you did on the occasion of the end of the year celebrations, » he said request.

« Teleworking wherever possible becomes imperative »

The Prime Minister is also counting on teleworking, « a very powerful lever that we are not using enough », to limit the epidemic. However, « since the end of the year, recourse to teleworking has reduced, […] and there are still too many companies where telework would be possible but where it does not exist at all, or at very low levels « . A situation which must be remedied: « Teleworking wherever possible becomes imperative », therefore hammered the Prime Minister.

« Since the beginning of November, teleworking must be the rule for all activities which allow it », recalled the Minister of Labor, Elisabeth Borne. « Today, nearly a third of working people in France can easily telework and therefore participate in the fight against the virus by teleworking: it appears, however, that teleworking has been eroding since the end of November », she regretted.

« I ask each company to mobilize on the following two priorities. The first is to reduce the share of employees who do not telework at all, » said the Minister of Labor. « The second priority is that employees who telework today 1, 2 or 3 days a week do at least one day of telework more each day », added Elisabeth Borne.

The minister also pointed to the sectors in which the « relaxation » is « more pronounced ». « This is particularly the case for banking and insurance, communication, IT, real estate and legal activities ».

Elisabeth Borne finally recalled that a « crisis line for employees who suffer from isolation » has been launched by the government. Its number is 0 800 130 000.

1.7 million additional vaccination appointments

On the vaccination front, the government intends to accelerate and offer 1.7 million additional appointments for the first injection in the coming days. In detail, « 500,000 appointments » will be open on Friday for an injection by the end of February, and « 1.2 million in March which will be open from the middle of next week ». A measure which should make it possible to achieve « the objective set by the President of the Republic of having offered vaccination to all volunteers over 75 years old, as well as to people under 75 years of age with serious comorbidities « .

In addition, the newly validated vaccine from the British laboratory AstraZeneca (for those under 65) « will be assigned to health establishments, to protect health, hospital and city professionals, » said the government leader. « The vaccinations should begin this Saturday. » AstraZeneca serum « will allow us to accelerate the rate of vaccination », assures Jean Castex, who specifies: « thanks to this new vaccine, we will be able to reach the objective of 4 million people having received their first injection of here at the end of February.  »

Multiplication of saliva tests, especially in schools

Saliva detection tests for Covid-19 will be carried out in schools and universities « upon return from school holidays », but they will not be rapid tests and they will still have to be analyzed in the laboratory, announced the Minister of Health Olivier Véran. « We are going to increase collective screening operations, in particular aimed at schools (…), but also universities. »

After an opinion from the High Authority for Health (HAS) « within 10 days », « we will deploy these techniques so that upon returning from school holidays, we can perform several hundred thousand tests, by saliva sampling », has t he continued. « Only the sampling technique changes in this case », continued Mr. Véran, stressing that the test is less unpleasant to perform, especially for children: it suffices to spit out saliva and we avoid « the swab in the nose ». « On the other hand, the examination then continues in the laboratory in the same way as for the tests that you know. »

However, he ruled out the use in schools of rapid saliva tests, which give a result in 40 minutes. « It would be great if we could have saliva tests that give you a result in a few minutes, but at this stage, the studies (…) are not in favor of (their) use, because the sensitivity of the tests that exist today is too weak.  »

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Gabriel MIHAI

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