What could the French government decide at today's Covid-19 health council?
Top French ministers will hold a health council meeting on the Covid-19 health crisis on Monday and could decide on further measures that may impact how the country celebrates Christmas.
UPDATE: You can read about the measures taken by the government, including the closure of nightclubs, in this new article HERE.
The article below is now out of date.
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France’s conseil de défense sanitaire was due to meet on Monday morning to discuss responses to the fifth wave of Covid-19 currently raging in France.
The government is considering adapting public health measures in light of the latest figures - more than 11,500 people are now hospitalised with the virus, including 2,066 in intensive care. The influential Pasteur Institute has forecast that the number of Covid patients in ICU could pass 3,000 by December 12th.
READ ALSO France records 50,000 daily Covid cases as hospital admissions rise
The situation now
"A patient is admitted to intensive care every 10 minutes. We have experienced this during the second, the third wave," Health Minister Olivier Véran told franceinfo on Friday. “If nothing changes, we could have a peak at the end of January, with a very large number of seriously ill people."
Monday’s health council meeting at the Elysee Palace will determine "whether additional measures should be taken", to contain this latest outbreak in the lead-up to Christmas, amid additional concern over the Omicron variant.
What’s up for discussion?
Monday's meeting is mainly intended to be a ‘progress report’, an unnamed source told Le Monde, ‘with perhaps some adjustments here and there’. So, no major changes are in store.
The key focus is on continuing the vaccination push, on getting more people to come forward for a third dose to create what Véran described last week as the ‘firewall effect’.
“What was decided nearly 10 days ago was the right decision to take," Macron said on Friday, during a trip to the United Arab Emirates. “The strategy we have today allows us to resist. We must continue to vaccinate, to vaccinate, to vaccinate, to respect the barrier gestures as we do.”
The option of starting the school holidays early, in light of the decision in neighbouring Belgium to take this course of action, is also up for discussion - though it is believed the weight of opinion is not in favour of the move.
Meanwhile, opening immunisation to all children aged between five and 11 - not just those who, for various reasons, are considered health risks, is also expected to be up for discussion, according to the Ministry of Health, which mentions the announcement of a “precise timetable” after the meeting.
The ministry confirmed that “the opening of vaccination to all children” of this age group is planned “from the beginning of January 2022”.
What’s not on the agenda
A return to routine working from home to contain the epidemic is believed not to be on the agenda. According to France Info radio, the possibility of lockdown - or even a curfew - is not up for discussion, nor are limits on the number of people in indoor venues.
An Elysee Palace adviser told France Info that many more doses of vaccine will get to pharmacies, surgeries and vaccine centres this week. “The challenge is to see what last levers we can activate without placing constraints on vaccinated people,” the adviser said.
Those sentiments echoed those of Véran, who advised more of the same on Friday: "If we change our daily behaviour, if we recreate a little social distancing, we can reduce by 10%, 15%, 20% the circulation of the virus, and then it totally changes the curves."
Expect, then, encouragement and a warning after today’s meeting. The government wants to encourage the French to get their booster dose, and reiterate the importance of barrier gestures, such as wearing face masks in public places. It doesn’t want to spoil Christmas.
READ ALSO ‘We need to be careful’: Will France have a normal Christmas this year?
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UPDATE: You can read about the measures taken by the government, including the closure of nightclubs, in this new article HERE.
The article below is now out of date.
******
France’s conseil de défense sanitaire was due to meet on Monday morning to discuss responses to the fifth wave of Covid-19 currently raging in France.
The government is considering adapting public health measures in light of the latest figures - more than 11,500 people are now hospitalised with the virus, including 2,066 in intensive care. The influential Pasteur Institute has forecast that the number of Covid patients in ICU could pass 3,000 by December 12th.
READ ALSO France records 50,000 daily Covid cases as hospital admissions rise
The situation now
"A patient is admitted to intensive care every 10 minutes. We have experienced this during the second, the third wave," Health Minister Olivier Véran told franceinfo on Friday. “If nothing changes, we could have a peak at the end of January, with a very large number of seriously ill people."
Monday’s health council meeting at the Elysee Palace will determine "whether additional measures should be taken", to contain this latest outbreak in the lead-up to Christmas, amid additional concern over the Omicron variant.
What’s up for discussion?
Monday's meeting is mainly intended to be a ‘progress report’, an unnamed source told Le Monde, ‘with perhaps some adjustments here and there’. So, no major changes are in store.
The key focus is on continuing the vaccination push, on getting more people to come forward for a third dose to create what Véran described last week as the ‘firewall effect’.
“What was decided nearly 10 days ago was the right decision to take," Macron said on Friday, during a trip to the United Arab Emirates. “The strategy we have today allows us to resist. We must continue to vaccinate, to vaccinate, to vaccinate, to respect the barrier gestures as we do.”
The option of starting the school holidays early, in light of the decision in neighbouring Belgium to take this course of action, is also up for discussion - though it is believed the weight of opinion is not in favour of the move.
Meanwhile, opening immunisation to all children aged between five and 11 - not just those who, for various reasons, are considered health risks, is also expected to be up for discussion, according to the Ministry of Health, which mentions the announcement of a “precise timetable” after the meeting.
The ministry confirmed that “the opening of vaccination to all children” of this age group is planned “from the beginning of January 2022”.
What’s not on the agenda
A return to routine working from home to contain the epidemic is believed not to be on the agenda. According to France Info radio, the possibility of lockdown - or even a curfew - is not up for discussion, nor are limits on the number of people in indoor venues.
An Elysee Palace adviser told France Info that many more doses of vaccine will get to pharmacies, surgeries and vaccine centres this week. “The challenge is to see what last levers we can activate without placing constraints on vaccinated people,” the adviser said.
Those sentiments echoed those of Véran, who advised more of the same on Friday: "If we change our daily behaviour, if we recreate a little social distancing, we can reduce by 10%, 15%, 20% the circulation of the virus, and then it totally changes the curves."
Expect, then, encouragement and a warning after today’s meeting. The government wants to encourage the French to get their booster dose, and reiterate the importance of barrier gestures, such as wearing face masks in public places. It doesn’t want to spoil Christmas.
READ ALSO ‘We need to be careful’: Will France have a normal Christmas this year?
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