To cope with the epidemic rebound of Covid-19, the government has decided to move up a gear. Thursday, the Minister of Health Olivier Véran detailed at a press conference the new health measures in force in France. He assured him, the country is currently experiencing a fifth wave. To contain it, the government chose to avoid the restrictions last fall, and will therefore impose no lockdown or curfew. “We can pass this wave without resorting to the most restrictive tools”, he underlined, specifying that there would not be either at this stage “neither early closing of businesses nor restrictions of movement”. The executive has indeed decided to continue to focus on vaccination and barrier gestures.
Booster dose extended to all adults …
Access to the booster dose will therefore be extended to all over 18s and can be performed five months after the last injection, in accordance with the recommendations of the High Authority for Health published Thursday morning. “The vaccine booster will be open to all adults, five months after their last injection” from this Saturday, announced Olivier Véran. “In practice, this concerns 25 million French people, 6 million of whom have already received their booster, so there are still 19 million French people to date who become eligible for the booster vaccination and whom we call on to be vaccinated in the next two months.”
The Minister of Health assured that the country has sufficient stocks to reach the entire population and took the opportunity to call on the unvaccinated to be vaccinated. “We will open, reopen or expand the vaccination centers from this weekend,” he said.
… And compulsory for the health pass from January 15
The health pass will also evolve. “As of December 15, the health pass for people over 65 will no longer be active if the reminder has not been made within seven months of infection or after the last injection. And from 15 January this health pass for all other audiences, that is to say French people aged 18 to 64, will no longer be active if the reminder has not been made within this period which remains unchanged for seven months after the last injection, “he said.
Test validity shortened to 24 hours
From November 29, for people without a vaccine, a daily negative test will be necessary to keep their health pass. The validity period of negative Covid-19 tests giving entitlement to the health pass will also be reduced to 24 hours. This period, which allows unvaccinated or fully vaccinated people to benefit from the health pass, was until now 72 hours. “We are reducing the validity of screening tests to 24 hours” to benefit from the health pass, “continued the Minister of Health.
Regarding the vaccination of 5-11 year olds, the Minister of Health affirmed that France is thinking about it, but that nothing will be put in place before 2022. “This vaccination, if it were decided in France, would not start before the beginning of the year 2022 “, declared Olivier Véran, who approached the national health authorities after the approval of Pfizer’s vaccine for 5-11 years by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
Wearing a mask again compulsory everywhere indoors
Olivier Véran also focused on barrier gestures. He called to remain vigilant and to resume “the good habits that have been lost”. Wearing a mask will therefore be compulsory again from Friday in all indoor public places, including those subject to the health pass. “The prefects will also be empowered to make it compulsory to wear a mask for outdoor events, such as for example Christmas markets”, which will be subject to the health pass, “or flea markets”, he said.
No more class closures from the first case in primary
On the issue of the health protocol at school, the Minister of National Education Jean-Michel Blanquer announced that there will no longer be a systematic closure of primary classes from the first positive case for the coronavirus, but that a “systematic screening of the whole class” will be carried out.
“Our compass remains the priority of an open school,” said Jean-Michel Blanquer. “From next week, when a student tests positive, all students in the class are tested in turn and only classmates who test positive stay at home,” said the minister, noting that 8,500 schools were closed on Wednesday, against 4,100 on November 19.
As an entertainment author with over 7 years of experience, I bring a diverse background to my writing. I have a proven track record in the journalism industry. My expertise extends beyond writing, as I have experience producing video content for websites and social media platforms, offering a well-rounded perspective on the entertainment world
