VIGILANCE – The Minister of the Interior on Tuesday asked the prefects to take measures to “dissuade gatherings” and impose the wearing of masks in the city center, in particular for New Year’s Eve, in the face of the meteoric surge of the Omicron variant in France.
LCI editorial staff –
In the aftermath of Prime Minister Jean Castex’s announcements to deal with the meteoric rise of the Omicron variant in France, the Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin also gave some recommendations in a telegram addressed to the prefects that LCI was able to consult.
No curfew therefore for the 31st, as feared by a large number of French people, but strict and clear instructions to be observed. Thus, the boss of the place Beauvau asked this December 28 to the prefects to take measures to “deter gatherings” and impose the wearing of the mask in the city center, in particular for New Year’s Eve.
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“Do not hesitate, in view of local circumstances, to prohibit activities which do not seem to you to meet the conditions allowing the respect of barrier gestures or social distancing”, Gerald Darmanin indicated in this telegram.
Contacted by LCI, several prefectures said on Tuesday that they did not yet know which city centers in their department would be potentially affected by the wearing of the compulsory mask and were awaiting instructions from the government.
“The greatest firmness” requested from the police
In the telegram, the Minister of the Interior asks in particular the police “the greatest firmness” and an “sufficient presence” against gatherings “spontaneous” and to guarantee the measures already announced by the government for the night from Friday to Saturday, such as the ban on alcohol consumption on public roads.
“You will impose by decree the wearing of masks in town centers and in perimeters where spontaneous gatherings are likely to occur“, he adds, also asking for the limitation of public transport to “avoid the mixing of populations”, especially this Friday, December 31.
Prime Minister Jean Castex asked town halls to give up New Year’s festivities, particularly concerts and fireworks. Several cities announced cancellations today, such as Rennes.
The number of people with Covid-19 continued to increase on Monday and the rate of contamination remains high. The number of new cases stands at 30,383, after 27,697 on Sunday and a record of more than 100,000 on Saturday, also with records of tests carried out that day.
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In addition, until the end of the year, the minister asked to strengthen security in front of places of worship due to the terrorist threat, as he had already done in mid-December.
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