Prime Minister Jean Castex takes the floor Thursday morning to detail the measures announced by Emmanuel Macron, who on Tuesday set the main milestones for stepwise deconfinement.

While the situation is improving in hospitals, the daily number of new infections remains well above the objectives set by the executive.

Follow the evolution of the situation live.

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After the announcements, place for the explanation of text: Prime Minister Jean Castex must detail Thursday the containment relief measures exposed by Emmanuel Macron and which still present many areas of uncertainty.

Tuesday, the President of the Republic took the floor to announce a deconfinement in three stages, spread until January 20 if the health situation in the face of the Covid-19 epidemic continues to improve.

In the rest of the world, the United States recorded a sharp increase in mortality on Wednesday, with 2,400 deaths, a figure that had not been reached since last spring.

Follow the evolution of the situation live:

Information to remember:

  • Prime Minister Jean Castex will speak at 11 a.m. to detail Emmanuel Macron's announcements

  • More than 16,000 new positive cases were confirmed in France on Wednesday

  • The United States saw its number of daily deaths rise sharply on Wednesday

A conference by Jean Castex

The ritual is now well underway: first an address by Emmanuel Macron, followed Tuesday evening by nearly 30 million French people, to unveil the terms of a reduction in confinement and "set a course".

Then instructs the ministers to specify "the reopening measures and the protocols which will prevail".

During his press conference Thursday at 11 a.m., Jean Castex will be surrounded by five members of the government, including Olivier Véran (Health), Bruno Le Maire (Economy) and Roselyne Bachelot (Culture), to provide this after-sales service.

The main lines of the executive's plan are known.

The loosening will be done in three stages:

From November 28.

After weeks of controversy, small businesses will be able to reopen on Saturday with a reinforced health protocol.

Services in places of worship will again be allowed and it will be possible to travel, with a certificate, within a radius of 20 km around his home, for three hours.

The Prime Minister "will come back to this rule of 20 km and 3 hours to remind people that this does not mean that you have to go to one or the other" and increase the interactions, explains his entourage.

From December 15th.

Provided that the health situation continues to improve, cinemas, theaters and museums will be able to reopen in turn on December 15 when a national night curfew will replace the containment in force since October 29.

Finally,

from January 20

, after the end of the year celebrations placed under close surveillance, the restaurants - but not the bars - will be able to welcome customers again, again if all goes well.

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 Coronavirus: the deconfinement calendar

A situation that is improving in the hospital, a daily number of contaminations still high

The improvement in the situation on the epidemic front, observed since mid-November, was confirmed on Wednesday with the number of hospitalized patients now below 30,000.

The pressure also continues to drop in intensive care with a total of 4,136 Covid patients (against 4,277 on Tuesday), including 258 new admissions in 24 hours (270 on Tuesday).

But more than 16,000 new positive cases were confirmed on Wednesday (16,282), well beyond the threshold of 5,000 cases / day set by Emmanuel Macron to continue to loosen the grip.

384 new deaths were recorded in hospital in 24 hours, bringing the total to 50,618 in France since the start of the epidemic (including 34,780 in hospital). 

Aid and flexibility

If the framework is posed, the questions remain numerous and many sectors are still awaiting directives.

Others are still betting on easing restrictions.

The French Bishops' Conference assured Wednesday that the limitation to a maximum of 30 people per religious office, including in cathedrals, would be reviewed.

The ski resorts, taken aback by the presidential announcements seeming to rule out a reopening for Christmas, also still hope to be able to influence the government's position.

Jean Castex spoke Monday of a "definitive response on December 5".

The Prime Minister is also expected to clarify the situation for amateur sport.

Tuesday, Emmanuel Macron only mentioned the resumption of "extra-curricular activities", outdoors from Saturday and indoors from December 15.

Jean Castex will also give details on the measures intended for young people, the precarious and intermittent promised by the Head of State as well as on the aid intended for companies.

Emmanuel Macron announced Tuesday that for administratively closed businesses, could obtain aid corresponding to 20% of their annual turnover.

Other sectors, partially closed, could also be concerned, with modulated aid, we advance in the entourage of the Prime Minister.

>> READ ALSO -

Light confinement: what Jean Castex must decide this Thursday

First vaccinations by end of December, beginning of January

Olivier Véran should, for his part, return to the "massive" vaccination campaign which should start at the end of December / beginning of January, a crucial issue on which the executive is expected at the turn, after the failures on the masks and the tests.

"Vaccines and the issue of isolation will be discussed," according to those around Jean Castex.

"But we will not have to wait" for additional details compared to the statements of Emmanuel Macron who launched the debate on more restrictive conditions of isolation of positive cases by calling on Parliament to take it up.

>> READ ALSO -

 Covid: is the vaccine strategy announced by Emmanuel Macron realistic?

Germany extends restrictions

Germany will extend until early January its restrictions to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, including the closure of bars and restaurants and the limitations of participants in private meetings, Angela Merkel announced Wednesday evening.

The restrictions decided at a previous session in November will therefore continue to apply "until the beginning of January, unless we have an unexpected decrease in the infection rate but this is unlikely at this stage", explained the Chancellor.

Germany will also ask the European Union to ban ski trips until January 10, the source of several epidemic outbreaks last winter, despite opposition from Austria and the anger of the resorts.

Unprecedented measures in Bulgaria

The Bulgarian government, so far reluctant to impose restrictions to fight against the coronavirus, decided on Wednesday to close schools, restaurants and shopping centers, as hospitals are overwhelmed by the explosion in the number of infections.

The measures will take effect Friday evening and will be in effect until December 21.

A new mortality peak in the United States

The United States deplored Wednesday, on the eve of the very popular Thanksgiving holiday, more than 2,400 dead from the coronavirus in 24 hours, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, a sad toll that had not been reached since more than six months.

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More than 1.4 million deaths worldwide

More than 60 million cases of the new coronavirus have been officially detected worldwide since the start of the pandemic, according to a count made by AFP from reports provided by the authorities on Wednesday at 6.30 p.m. GMT.

A total of 60,014,291 cases, including 1,415,258 deaths, have been recorded since the end of December.

The United States has the most deaths (262,080), ahead of Brazil (170,769), India (134,699), Mexico (102,739) and the United Kingdom (55,838).