Christmas despite the Covid-19?
While the epidemic is rebounding in France and strong restrictive measures come into force on Saturday, two Nobel Prize winners in economics are proposing to "decree containment" from December 1 to 20 in order to maximize the chances that people can take advantage of the end of year celebrations.
"At the rate things are going, the hypothesis of a generalized confinement precisely around the end of the year celebrations is not to be ruled out", write the Franco-American Esther Duflo and the American Abhijit Banerjee, laureates in 2019 , in a column published in Le Monde this Saturday.
For the moment, no national reconfinement is officially envisaged even if the Prime Minister, Jean Castex, seemed to open the door if the epidemic worsened further, Thursday evening on France 2.
"Significant cost to the economy, but less than having to cancel Christmas"
However, the weeks leading up to Christmas, "children and grandchildren unfortunately risk infecting the elderly", write the two Nobel Prize winners.
“This could force the government to declare a blanket re-containment when it is already too late or, if it shows a little bit of anticipation, to ban travel and family reunions for Christmas.
Emmanuel Macron will therefore be either the Grinch or Father Fouettard… The prospect is not encouraging ”.
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This is why the two economists formulate this shocking proposal for a “preventive” confinement from December 1 to 20, “by asking families to stay at home and not to anticipate the holidays by rushing to the grandparents.
".
"The cost to the economy would be significant, but less than having to cancel Christmas or a re-containment in much worse circumstances two weeks later", estimate the two Nobel Prize winners.
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“It is a solution which has the merit of taking, for once, the advance on the virus, of being clear, uniform and transparent.
It could, moreover, be perceived as the price to pay for an immediate reward, a collective effort to save Christmas… ”, judge Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee.
In the UK, "be tough now" to save Christmas
If the idea may seem interesting in principle, it is not at all considered in practice by the authorities.
For the moment, only two territories are on maximum alert (the Aix-Marseille metropolis and Guadeloupe), resulting in the total closure of bars and restaurants as well as many places open to the public.
In addition, a reconfinement of nearly a month risks being badly accepted socially, even though it would perhaps make it possible to better benefit from the end of year celebrations.
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But this debate could also take place in the United Kingdom, where a battery of very strict measures was announced on September 17.
"The only way to ensure the country can enjoy Christmas is to be tough now," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.
