French premier Castex announces plans to curb spread of Omicron variant
French prime minister Jean Castex
emerged from several hours of meetings with President Emmanuel Macron and top
ministers on Monday to outline an array of measures aimed at curbing the spread
of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
For the next three weeks, all public
gatherings indoors will be limited to 2,000 people and to 5,000 people for
outdoor events.
Standing concerts will be banned as
well as the consumption of drinks and food in cinemas, theatres and on long
distance transport. Employees will be encouraged to work from home one day a
week wherever possible.
"A new wave is breaking over
the continent,” said Castex who was flanked by health minister
Olivier Véran during a press conference after the cabinet meeting.
“In France as
in Europe, the health situation is extremely tense.”
Castex unveiled the plans as France
reported just over 30,000 new cases of the coronavirus compared with nearly
28,000 on Sunday. On Saturday, the country registered a record high of 104,611
infections.
He ruled out a curfew for 31
December but asserted that the next school term would start as scheduled on 3
January - the same day as a ban begins on drinking at the counter in cafés and
bars.
From Tuesday, the delay for a third
booster shot will be cut from four to three months in response to the rocketing
spread of Omicron.
"Vaccination protects us,” added
Castex. “It protects
others and it protects the health services. The key and decisive element
remains vaccination.”
He said there would also be a
crackdown on people using bogus health passes.
“It is a
deliberate act of endangering the lives of others that no personal conviction
can justify,” he added.
Macron is expected to make a
statement on the health crisis in France during his traditional end of year
address to the nation on 31 December. Source:
rfi