While the epidemic is on the rise in the West Indies, and the Delta variant is progressing in metropolitan France, the government met by videoconference on Wednesday for a Defense Council before announcing new measures against Covid-19.
Here are the details of the announcements relayed by the government spokesperson, Gabriel Attal.
Vaccine boosters possible as early as September
Emmanuel Macron had alluded to it on July 12.
It is now more concrete: a recall campaign for a third dose of vaccine will begin in mid-September, and will concern the most vulnerable people, vaccinated at the beginning of the year.
"The meetings will open at the end of August, beginning of September, for a recall campaign which will begin in mid-September", indicated Gabriel Attal.
"The list of the populations concerned will be drawn up by the High Authority for Health," he added.
A little earlier, by opening a Health Defense Council, President Emmanuel Macron had mentioned "vaccination reminders for people over 80 years of age and particularly vulnerable from the start of the school year".
De-reimbursement of PCR tests
This was announced during the extension of the health pass.
PCR tests will no longer be reimbursed unless they are prescribed by a doctor from mid-October, announced Gabriel Attal.
"We have decided to mark the end of free tests beyond medical prescription", explained the government spokesperson, in accordance with "the announcement made by the President of the Republic in his speech of July 12" and "the choices made by a certain number of our European neighbors".
“The repeated tests do not prevent going to the hospital and heavily contaminating.
By mid-October, everyone will have had the time to organize themselves and take their responsibilities, we are also taking our own, ”he added.
Health pass in shopping centers
The government has asked the prefects to make the health pass compulsory in shopping centers of more than 20,000 m2, in departments where the incidence rate exceeds 200 per 100,000.
Mask compulsory in high incidence areas
In the departments where the incidence rate exceeds 200 per 100,000, the prefects must restore the wearing of compulsory masks indoors in places open to the public, added the government spokesperson.
Reinforced border controls
The government spokesperson also assured that border controls would be "firmer, more drastic", and wishes to test "100% of travelers from countries at risk" using antigenic tests.
Reinforced confinement in Guadeloupe
After Martinique, the containment already in place in Guadeloupe will be reinforced, in the face of the explosion of Covid-19 cases, which overload already limited hospital services. “During the Defense Council this morning, we decided to extend the measures (already applied in Martinique) to Guadeloupe,” said Gabriel Attal. "It is a vital necessity" to "stop the circulation of the virus as quickly as possible", he added. This hardened confinement will lead to the closure of bars, restaurants and beaches.
