Covid-19: school holidays will not be extended in France

A few days before Christmas, the restrictions linked to the pandemic are multiplying.

The Netherlands is confined until January 14, Israel places several European countries, including France, on the red list, a first case of the Omicron variant has been detected in Iran and France is not extending the school holidays for the moment. ...

takes stock this weekend on the latest information related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Read also Omicron variant: what studies tell us about its true contagiousness

• France: no extension of school holidays

An extension of the school holidays beyond January 3 is "

" to curb the Covid epidemic and would only be decided as a "

", declared the Minister of National Education Jean -Michel Blanquer.

• Brussels speeds up vaccine deliveries to the EU

The European Commission announced this Sunday an agreement with the BioNtech and Pfizer groups to deliver 20 million additional doses of their anti-Covid vaccine to Member States in the first half of 2022 in order to facilitate vaccination campaigns.

Read alsoCovid-19: the decision to authorize the Novavax vaccine in the EU expected next week

• Israel places several European countries on red list

The Israeli government on Sunday banned its citizens from traveling to several European countries, including France, placed on the red list, and the United States could be added to it, in order to prevent the spread of the Omicron variant of the Covid-19.

Read also Omicron variant: what studies tell us about its true contagiousness

These restrictions on travel abroad, which already affected most African countries as well as Great Britain and Denmark, now also apply to Spain, Finland, France, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and also the United Arab Emirates.

• The Netherlands confined

In the Netherlands where 86% of adults are vaccinated, all non-essential shops, restaurants, bars, cinemas, museums and theaters closed their doors on Sunday until January 14.

Schools must keep doors closed until January 9.

At the same time, the number of guests that people are allowed to receive in their homes is reduced to two, except for Christmas, as well as the day before and the day after this day of December 25, and for the New Year period, when it will be four. .

Read also "Curfew certificate", "wokism", "survivalist", what are the most searched words in 2021?

Health restrictions imposed by the Dutch government are increasingly unpopular, with riots erupting in cities like Rotterdam and The Hague for several nights in November.

• The Omicron variant detected in Iran

The first case of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 was detected in Iran, where an emergency meeting was held in the presence of the Minister of Health to decide on specific measures to be implemented in order to prevent the spread of the variant .

Iran is particularly affected by the Covid-19 with 130,000 deaths.

The head of the Covid Committee on Sunday proposed the total closure of schools.

• More than 5.34 million dead

The pandemic has killed at least 5,348,763 people worldwide since the WHO office in China reported the onset of the disease at the end of December 2019, according to a report established by AFP from official sources Sunday at 11:00 GMT.

The United States is the most bereaved country with 806,302 deaths, ahead of Brazil (617,754 deaths), India (477,422) and Mexico (297,835).

The WHO estimates, taking into account the excess mortality directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19, that the results of the pandemic could be two to three times higher than that officially recorded.