Review of the measures announced this Friday at the end of the health defense council to try to stem the new outbreak of Covid as the end of the year holidays approach.
Faced with a dazzling fifth wave and a very contagious omicron variant in ambush, the government announced on Friday new measures by the holidays after a new Health Defense Council. Here are the main measures and recommendations put forward by Prime Minister Jean Castex.
A bill in early January to transform the health pass into a vaccination pass
This is the flagship proposition of the speech delivered by Jean Castex from Matignon. After explaining that the government will strengthen “In January the encouragement of vaccination because it is not admissible that the refusal of a few million French people to be vaccinated endanger the life of an entire country”, the Prime Minister then announced “that a bill will be submitted to Parliament at the beginning of January to transform the health pass into a vaccination pass. ”
Concretely, to go to the restaurant or to the cinema, a simple antigen test or PCR recorded in your sanitary logbook will not suffice. A complete vaccination schedule should be presented. This is a final warning before the compulsory vaccination that other European countries like Austria have adopted.
A hardening assumed politically by the executive: “At the beginning of next week, I will carry out a preliminary consultation on this project, as well as on all other useful measures to extend the vaccination as much as possible. We assume that we are putting pressure on the unvaccinated, because the critical care and resuscitation services in our hospitals are mostly filled with unvaccinated people. ”
Jean Castex hopes to convince the millions of French people who still refuse to be vaccinated, with the vaccination pass. But he does not forget those who are not protected for lack of access to care. For this, the government will amplify “The so-called ‘going towards’ procedures aimed at unvaccinated populations who may have missed out on vaccination due to ignorance or because they are traditionally the furthest removed from the healthcare system”.
No concerts or fireworks on New Year’s Eve
For the New Year, wild gatherings, fireworks and concerts will be prohibited. “I appeal to everyone’s responsibility to find other modalities than large gatherings”, said the head of government, who says he understands “The frustration of having to limit yourself in these festive moments”.
Pay “doubled” for overtime in hospital
This measure will be effective from next Monday, said Jean Castex. “We asked the city professionals to mobilize to ensure the continuity of care during this period” and “Measures will also be deployed for our emergency services, but what our caregivers expect from us is that we be careful and above all that we vaccinate ourselves”, added the head of government from Matignon.
At Christmas, “the fewer we are, the less risks we take”
“The fifth wave delta is here and there. It continues to affect us with nearly 50,000 cases per day. […] The omicron variant is unfolding at lightning speed. We believe that this variant could be dominant at the start of 2022 ”, recalled Jean Castex, while admitting not yet “Know everything about this variant.” The data indicate that full immunization coverage protects us against severe forms of the disease ”. Limit contamination as much as possible as the end of the year holidays approach “Goes through simple recommendations: rather than a specific number (6, 8, 10), let’s rely on a principle of common sense; the fewer we are, the less risks we take ”.
Free self-tests for the vaccinated?
This measure had been mentioned by the main union of pharmacists (FSPF), even before the end of the Defense Council which began on Friday at 4 p.m.: as announced a few hours earlier by the FSPF, the main union of pharmacists, the government would anticipate a reimbursement of the Covid-19 self-tests, up to two per person between December 20 and January 2. Corn “Only vaccinated people could benefit from the payment of self-tests by the Health Insurance”, specifies the FSPF in a message sent to its members. A measure ultimately not retained by the government, according to the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, who answered questions from France Inter, this Saturday.
The president of the FSPF, Philippe Besset, sees it “An additional solution” for pharmacies that reach “A kind of glass ceiling on antigenic tests”. But he dreads “Strong demand” and regrets that pharmacists have “Not been warned early enough” to increase their stocks, estimated at “Between 800,000 and one million self-tests”, with the risk “That many people are disappointed because they will want self-tests and there will not be enough”.
Even before the meeting was held, the government said Thursday that France would tighten its access conditions for travelers from the United Kingdom in order to limit the spread of the omicron variant. These restrictions will be in effect this weekend. However, France “Does not plan to set up tests” anti-Covid for travelers coming from other EU countries, said Emmanuel Macron. On Thursday, 60,866 new cases were diagnosed in France, against 65,713 cases the day before.
Update December 18, 2021 at 10:45 a.m. with the precision by Olivier Véran on the non-free admission of the self-tests.