New Year 2022: health restrictions and best practices for tonight

It is December 31, 2021 and, for the second day in a row, more than 200,000 positive cases for the coronavirus have been identified. The Omicron variant, more contagious than the previous strains, is spreading very quickly. The risks of hospital pressure are worrying. It is in this context that the transition to the new year 2022 will take place.

The executive and the communities therefore apply a series of restrictive measures for the festivities. But, in addition to these legal arrangements, there are also good practices to follow – most of them are just as important.

New Year’s 2022 health restrictions

Measures have been adopted to limit the vectors of contamination during the New Year’s festivities. The restrictions are adopted by the prefectures, so you should check the measures in force where you live. Here is a generic list:

• Early closure of drinking establishments – bars, cafes, restaurants – at 1 or 2 a.m. depending on the department. The closing takes place at 2 a.m. in Paris (also closed on January 2) as well as in Seine-et-Marne, Val-de-Marne, Yvelines, Calvados, Alpes-Maritimes, Charente-Maritime, ‘Indre-et-Loire, the Landes, the Saône-et-Loire the Tarn. The closing will take place at 1 am in Finistère, the Ardennes and the Var.
• Festive gatherings prohibited on public roads, for several departments, including Ile-de-France, Rhône, Corrèze, Indre-et-Loire, North, and all those of the New Aquitaine region. In some departments, such as Charente, Gironde, Vienne, this results in gatherings limited to 10 people.
• Consumption of alcohol on public roads and sale of alcohol to take away prohibited on almost all of French territory.
• Dance activity is prohibited (because it requires physical connections) for establishments open to the public, including village halls, in Ile-de-France (including Paris), the North, the Rhône, the Gironde, the Oise.
• No fireworks on almost all of French territory. Likewise, anything relating to the purchase, sale or transport of fuels, explosives, and any other element of fireworks, is prohibited.

Finally, it should be noted that public transport such as metro and RER will be available all night long in order to avoid an influx of people before bar closings. The controls on the wearing of the mask should be enforced that night.

For further

Good practices

Faced with the epidemic peak, individual actions are very important. It is thus a question of adopting certain responsible behaviors:

• Avoid planning a “big” party bringing together a lot of people in a closed place which, given the traffic, would easily turn into a source of contamination: the less you are, the better. The ideal remains a small celebration with the members of the household and not beyond;
• At the slightest symptom, do not participate in any gatherings, stay at home. The symptoms that Omicron initially causes are very similar to a cold.
• In the event of a friendly or family gathering, even in a small group, and even vaccinated, a crucial barrier gesture is to ventilate very regularly, at least 10 minutes per hour. Even better if you can stay on the terrace. In addition, at the moment, it is exceptionally mild.
• The coronavirus is mainly aerosol (hence the interest of aeration and daily masks …), but hydroalcoholic gel to disinfect the hands participates in general hygiene, it is good to plan.
• the screening before seeing other people is good practice, including on the same day (you can find rapid antigenic self-tests in supermarkets: even if their sensitivity is less important than PCR and still reduced by Omicron, it remains a ” additional layer ”to be added to the rest).
• No gathering of positive people : you risk infecting people on the way (shops, transport, building, etc.), not to mention that even if you feel good, the infection makes you more fragile, which poses risks – admittedly rare – of superinfection.
• It’s strange to say, but: do not put yourself in unnecessary danger. Any situation that poses a risk of accident or emergency hospitalization is to forbid. The emergency services are already sufficiently saturated.