Prime Minister Jean Castex is due to announce on Thursday new measures for Île-de-France and Hauts-de-France, faced with a strong circulation of the coronavirus epidemic and strong hospital pressure.
For its part, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will deliver its verdict on the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Follow the evolution of the situation live.
Millions of French people will once again be hanging on the lips of Jean Castex.
While the country is facing a third wave of the coronavirus epidemic, which will "hit very hard" until mid-April according to Emmanuel Macron, the Prime Minister must announce a strengthening of measures in Île-de-France and in Hauts-de-France.
Three scenarios were mentioned: confinement at the weekend, confinement as in November or confinement like that of spring 2020. In the meantime, the figures remain bad, with an incidence rate on the rise in the Paris region and 4,219 patients in intensive care in France.
Follow the evolution of the situation live.
The main information to remember
The government must announce new measures in Île-de-France and Hauts-de France
More than 38,000 new cases recorded in 24 hours
European Medicines Agency to deliver verdict on AstraZeneca vaccine
New measures expected in Île-de-France and Hauts-de-France
The executive is due to announce new restrictions on Thursday in an attempt to curb the "third wave" of the epidemic.
Île-de-France and Hauts-de-France could thus be re-defined for the weekend or even for the whole week.
"We are, let's be clear, in a third wave largely due to the rise of this famous English variant. The situation is clearly critical. It will hit very hard until mid-April," said Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday evening at the event. '' a videoconference with mayors from Ile-de-France and other regions.
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It is its Prime Minister, Jean Castex, who is due to announce these new restrictions on Thursday at 6 p.m.
As of Wednesday noon, at the end of a new Sanitary Defense Council, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said that "additional measures", applicable from this weekend, would be taken in these two regions, while by suggesting that the schools would remain open there.
No new restrictions, however, in PACA, where Nice and the Alpes-Maritimes coast are already confined at weekends.
The exact nature of the new "braking measures", as well as their duration, remains to be determined and the executive will continue Thursday to consult elected officials to refine its strategy.
In front of parliamentarians, Jean Castex evoked three scenarios: confinement at the weekend, confinement as in November or confinement like that of spring 2020.
What verdict for the AstraZeneca vaccine?
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) delivers its verdict on the AstraZeneca vaccine on Thursday afternoon, after seven European states, including Germany and France, extended the list of around fifteen countries earlier this week. suspended administration of this vaccine due to problems, such as difficulty in clotting or the formation of blood clots.
The EMA could follow in the footsteps of the World Health Organization (WHO), which recommended Wednesday to continue to use it, and this especially since its director Emer Cook remains "firmly convinced" that the benefits l outweigh the risks.
And while she has not ruled out that the EMA will suspend the AstraZeneca vaccine in the EU, if there is a problem that cannot be resolved, it could also just issue an "additional warning", she added.
38,000 cases in 24 hours, a record since November
France recorded more than 38,000 cases between Tuesday and Wednesday, a level more seen since November, according to figures from Public Health France.
The test positivity rate remains at the same level as the day before, at 7.5%.
On the other hand, the pressure on the intensive care units has decreased very slightly, with 20 patients less than the day before.
A total of 4,219 patients were in intensive care in hospitals on Wednesday.
More than a quarter of these intensive care patients (1,161) are hospitalized in Île-de-France.
The pressure is down very slightly, with 16 fewer patients on sheaves than on Tuesday.
With 1,745 new hospitalizations in 24 hours across the country, there are now 25,314 Covid patients in hospitals in France, against 25,492 on Tuesday.
The epidemic has killed 246 in hospital in the past 24 hours, bringing the total toll since the start of the epidemic to 91,437 deaths.
Transmission could become seasonal
The transmission of Covid could become seasonal but the data is still insufficient to suggest relying on the weather and air quality to adapt measures to fight the pandemic, the UN said on Thursday.
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According to the report of a special team set up by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), a specialized agency of the UN, the seasonality of respiratory viral diseases - in particular the peak of the cold season for influenza and coronaviruses responsible for colds in temperate climates - suggested that Covid "would be a highly seasonal disease if it persisted for several years."
They also indicate that process modeling studies have shown that its transmission "may become seasonal over time, suggesting that it may be possible to rely on meteorological and air quality factors to monitor and predict "disease in the future.
Partial confinement in Poland
The Polish Minister of Health announced containment measures from March 20 across the country, advocating teleworking and announcing the closure of hotels, theaters, cinemas, sports halls, as well as most stores in galleries commercial.
Daily contaminations exceeded 25,000 cases on Wednesday and could soon reach 30,000 cases per day, according to authorities.
New record in Brazil
Brazil recorded 90,303 new cases of contamination in 24 hours on Wednesday, a record, as well as 2,648 new deaths, bringing the daily average over the last seven days to 2,017, the highest since the start of the pandemic.
More than 2.67 million dead
The pandemic has killed more than 2.67 million people worldwide since the start of the pandemic, according to a report established by AFP from official sources on Wednesday.
The United States is the country with the most deaths (537,945), followed by Brazil (284,775), Mexico (195,119), India (159,044) and the United Kingdom (125,690).