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France restricts unvaccinated, half Australian citizens in quarantine
Museums and cinemas will require health certificates and the government is considering extending this to other areas.
"We have not seen anything like this," the health minister said of the Delta variant.
In Australia it is not known when they left the quarantine, in light of the slow vaccination campaign, and a serological survey in India found antibodies among two-thirds of citizens
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France
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Corona virus
News agencies
Wednesday, 21 July 2021, 14:28
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(Photo: Reuters)
France began today (Wednesday) requiring citizens to present a vaccination certificate, a negative test for Corona or recovery from the disease to enter most museums and cinemas, amid a renewed outbreak of the virus. Later in the day, MPs will discuss whether to expand the move to cafes, restaurants and malls next month.
In the last day, 18,000 new cases have been diagnosed in France, compared to less than 7,000 cases per day last week. The 150% jump in the morbidity rate has been linked to the Delta variant, which is spreading rapidly in France and many other places in the world.
"We have never seen anything like this before," Health Minister Olive Varane told the National Assembly. He said the Delta variant, first identified in India, is several times more contagious than other variants, such as those identified in the UK and South Africa.
French President Emmanuel Macron announced the need for a health permit earlier this month, in parallel with requiring medical staffs to be vaccinated by September.
According to opinion polls, many in the country fear the vaccines and Macron's plan has led to demonstrations by thousands of opponents across the country, in parallel with the destruction of two vaccine centers this week.
Protesters call it a "medical dictatorship," and some lawmakers said they received life-threatening threats ahead of today's hearing.
Last week, some protesters even compared the government's restrictions to the persecution of Jews by the Nazis, but most French citizens support the government's recent steps, thinking it is the only way to avoid another blockade.
(Photo: Reuters)
In Australia, on the other hand, about half of the country's population is already under closure, after the state of South Australia joined Victoria and parts of New South Wales in the restrictions imposed on its citizens. Only 14% of Australians are vaccinated, the lowest rate among OECD countries, and the country's two largest cities - Sydney and Melbourne - do not know when they will be able to reopen.
Many came frustrated by the stringent restrictions imposed on them, a year and a half since the outbreak, when a return to routine in Britain and the United States increased pressure on the federal government in Canberra.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has refused to apologize for the slow pace of vaccinations. "No country has responded perfectly to the respondent, I think the Australians understand that," he told reporters yesterday. He again noted the relatively low rates of infections and deaths in Australia compared to other countries.
He mentioned that in Britain more than 90 people died yesterday from the virus, while in Australia less than a thousand died throughout the plague.
However, Jim Chalmers, a senior member of the opposition Labor Party, attacked him: "This is a prime minister hiding while people are in pain."
Until recently, Australia was praised for managing the epidemic, with border closures, isolations and rapid closures, but the Indian variant has challenged these defenses in the past month.
(Photo: Reuters)
In Sydney, which is in its fourth consecutive week of closure, 110 new cases have been diagnosed today, and a total of 1,500 in the current outbreak.
Residents are required to stay in their homes, but for food purchases, exercises and other vital outings.
The concern is that the closure may continue until September, after forecasts show that it will take months for the local infection to eradicate.
Authorities in Australia are committed to zeroing in on local infections until most citizens are vaccinated.
Among the reasons for Australians' hesitation to get vaccinated lies in publications on astraznica and side effects like blood clots, although they are rare.
Australia has a limited supply of other vaccines such as those of Pfizer.
India: Two-thirds of citizens with antibodies
In India, a serological survey showed that 67% of the 1.3 billion citizens have antibodies, data indicating how much the virus has spread during the second and deadly wave.
The fourth National Serological Survey examined whether a person has corona antibodies whether he has recovered or been vaccinated.
The survey also highlighted the slow rate of vaccinations in the country, with more than 62% not being vaccinated, 24.8% receiving one dose and only 13% receiving two doses of vaccine.
The latest survey was conducted in the last weeks of June and early July, with the second wave fading.
Some 400 million Indians, who have no antibodies, are still vulnerable ahead of the third wave that is expected to hit the country in the coming months.
In the countries of Carla and Assam, there has been a jump in the number of people infected in recent days.
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