The Director General of Health Jérôme Salomon, in Paris in December 2020. -

Jacques Witt / SIPA

Even if he gives a good point to the current health restrictions, the Director General of Health does not exclude “more stringent measures” at the national level in the event of a worsening of the Covid-19 epidemic.

In the meantime, Jérôme Salomon believes, in an interview with the

Journal du Dimanche

, that the curfew “works very well”.

"The situation is obviously very tense" but "the government has taken strong braking measures in particular with the curfew", he judges.

This measure "responds well to the problem of private gatherings and is also of great interest to our neighbors who were surprised by its effects", explains Jérôme Salomon, while the curfew at 6 p.m. was put in place in mid-January on the whole of the metropolis.

As for the local containment on the weekend inaugurated on Saturday in the Nice region and around Dunkirk, "we are going to study what gives [this measure] but we know, in view of the example in Guyana that it works", continues the DGS, believing that "these are difficult measures but [which] have a real impact".

Containment is the "absolute weapon"

Asked about the possibility of broader measures, Jérôme Salomon estimated that in addition to possible measures at the level of the departments, “regions could also be affected by more stringent measures.

And if the situation really worsens, the whole of the territory could be concerned ”.

"The British variant is in the majority on French territory", 53% of cases according to the latest results, notes Jérôme Salomon.

However, "we can still avoid confinement if everyone is mobilized".

"It is the absolute weapon when the curve explodes, but it is a very heavy weapon", he insists, evoking a "last resort".

On the eve of the start of the school year in several regions, including Ile-de-France, the Director General of Health also affirmed that the “very strict” health protocol in schools “works” and that “the massive deployment saliva tests ”was to“ strengthen ”him even more.

In addition, he estimates a "collective immunity", that is to say the minimum rate of immunized people for an epidemic to die out, at 80%.

“Today, between 15 and 20% of the French population is immune and 5% is vaccinated,” he notes.

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