First press conference of the year for Jean Castex, in the midst of a controversy over the pace of the vaccination campaign in France.
The Prime Minister, accompanied by the Minister of Health Olivier Véran, the “Mr. Vaccine” Alain Fischer and the director of a Parisian nursing home, took stock of the Covid-19 epidemic and its consequences.
On the program, in particular, the measures taken to cope with the circulation of the virus and the vaccination schedule, which started at a sluggish pace.
Are other departments going to curfew at 6 p.m.?
Will other categories of people be included in the list of “priority” for vaccination?
Here are the responses provided by the government this late Thursday afternoon.
No other department in curfew at 6 p.m. ... but ten departments under surveillance
The list remains fixed at fifteen.
No other department is under curfew at 6 p.m. at the moment.
Since last Friday, the epidemic situation has not deteriorated locally to the point of having to take more stringent measures now.
However, 10 departments, located in the east of France, are now under surveillance.
If the health situation does not improve or even continues to deteriorate, the 6 p.m. curfew could be imposed there as early as next week.
Elsewhere, the 8:00 p.m. curfew rule remains.
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Because the situation remains worrying, warns the Prime Minister.
"Even if the virus circulates slightly less in France than in most of our neighbors, the situation is far from being returned to normal", he explains, recalling that the number of new cases now stands at 15 000 contaminations per day on average, against 10,000 a few weeks ago.
Far from the objective of 5,000 cases per day, regrets Jean Castex, who insists on the hospital pressure which remains very strong.
"We are still more than 25,000 people hospitalized," he said, recalling that hospitals continue to deprogram operations to treat patients with covid.
On the other hand, Jean Castex did not mention the possibility of a third confinement, advanced half-heartedly by the president of the Scientific Council Jean-François Delfraissy on Wednesday evening on France 2.
Vigilance on new variants
The outbreak of cases in the United Kingdom, undoubtedly linked to the appearance of the new variant, worries the Prime Minister, who announces the extension of the closure of the borders for an as yet undetermined period.
“Two variants of the virus worry us and mobilize us, develops Olivier Véran.
The English variant is considered to be more contagious, in the order of 40 to 70%, becoming the majority variant in England, without being more dangerous.
"19 cases of this strain of the coronavirus have already been identified in France, and 3 of the South African variant, also informed the Directorate General of Health this Thursday afternoon.
Figures confirmed this Thursday evening by the Minister of Health.
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In response, the Minister announced that all questionable tests will be analyzed for genetic sequencing.
Olivier Véran promises increased surveillance in schools.
Anyone coming from the UK must have a negative test less than 72 hours before departure.
School closures not on the agenda
During the press conference, Jean Castex was asked about a possible closure of schools, in order to prevent against the epidemic resumption.
At this stage, the government is not considering such a measure.
Nor even a strengthening of the health protocol.
"The situation would have to be extremely serious for us to close the schools because we know the dramatic consequences of the closure of schools", he swept away.
Cinemas and restaurants will have to wait
This Thursday, January 7 was the announced day of the review clause for the reopening of cultural places.
As already announced by government spokesman Gabriel Attal, cinemas, theaters and performance halls will still have to remain closed.
Jean Castex specifies that a reopening is not envisaged before the end of the month.
"The health situation does not allow us any evolution today," he says.
The conditions for resumption in early February will be studied with representatives of the sector.
»A point will therefore be made on January 20 for these establishments.
These rules also apply to sports halls and ski lifts.
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The restaurants, supposed to reopen on January 20, also look grim.
As many professionals predicted, they will have to keep the doors closed beyond this date.
“The prospect of reopening in January is not realistic” and is postponed at least to mid-February, says Jean Castex on this point.
Finally, not a word has been spoken about the nightclubs, closed since the start of the first confinement ten months ago, in March 2020.
Sick leave without waiting period
As of January 10, if a person is declared a contact case or if they take a positive test, they will only need to register on the health insurance website to obtain a work stoppage without a waiting day.
From January 20, a home visit by a nurse will be offered to all these patients or contact cases.
Two developments on vaccination, the second delayed injection
After allowing caregivers over the age of 50 to be vaccinated at the start of the week and announced that 500 vaccination centers will be open by the end of the month, the government has announced some changes in the vaccination strategy .
First, the opening of access to vaccination for disabled people accommodated in specialized establishments.
People over 75 years old will be able to get vaccinated from January 18.
These people will be able to make an appointment on a dedicated website, by calling the vaccination center or by calling a national number.
Above all, the government has decided to postpone the vaccination booster.
"It is possible without risk and without loss of effectiveness to postpone the second injection for six weeks of the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine," said Olivier Véran, thus showing the government's willingness to play on these deadlines to give itself more room for maneuver and vaccinate more people.
The campaign "raises expectations or questions", acknowledged Jean Castex, acknowledging a slower start, which he attributes to the principle of priority, resulting from consultation and recommendations from the High Authority for Health.
Fewer than 1,000 doses were injected during the first week, from December 27 to January 3, and nearly 20,000 in total.
Relative to the population, it is much less than among our European neighbors.
"Not everyone will be able to be vaccinated immediately, in France as elsewhere," concedes Jean Castex, who has repeatedly defended the need to prioritize the populations most at risk.
The objective: to first vaccinate the 15 million elderly people.
"By the end of January, the quantities received will allow us to vaccinate at least one million people," says Jean Castex.
We will ensure that doses are delivered throughout the country.
"