Thursday evening, Prime Minister Jean Castex called on the French to show responsibility on the eve of the winter holidays, while the health situation in France could quickly deteriorate in the face of new variants of Covid-19.
The hypothesis of a re-containment has been ruled out, except for Mayotte where the figures for the epidemic have soared in recent days.
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No new measures, but caution.
On the eve of the school vacation period in France, the government has renewed its call for vigilance against the background of the progression of more contagious variants of the coronavirus.
If France escapes for the moment a new confinement - with the exception of Mayotte - a deterioration of the health situation, already very precarious, could lead the executive to take stronger measures.
In the United States, the Johnson & Johnson laboratory has applied for conditional authorization for its vaccine against Covid-19.
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Information to remember:
Mayotte is re-defined from Friday, 6 p.m.
More than 1.9 million checks have been carried out since the introduction of the curfew, and 177,000 fines drawn up
In the United States, the Johnson & Johnson group has applied for a new vaccine
A call for caution before the holidays
The government has called on the French to "be very careful" on the eve of the winter holidays, against a background of the progression of more contagious variants of the coronavirus, ruling out "to date" the hypothesis of a re-containment.
Confinement was however decided in Mayotte, French territory in the Indian Ocean, from Friday and for a period of three weeks.
The Prime Minister assured that "the high figures of the epidemic (20,000 new cases per day, 1,600 hospitalizations and 320 deaths on average over a week) are relatively stable".
A situation which "does not justify to this day", a new confinement.
Nevertheless, "if we are forced to do so in the event of a sharp and rapid deterioration in the situation, we would not hesitate to take our responsibilities", warned Jean Castex.
While the British variant had been measured at 3.3% among all positive cases on January 7 and 8, it stood at nearly 14% in France on January 27.
"These variants do not constitute a potential threat but a very real one," warned the head of government.
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In addition, checks have multiplied and some 177,000 fines for non-compliance with the curfew have been drawn up since its establishment on December 15, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on Thursday.
"1.9 million checks" have been carried out since that date, he added.
Reconfined Mayotte
The government has therefore decided to re-containment in Mayotte for at least three weeks, starting Friday at 6 p.m., to cope with the progression of the Covid-19 epidemic and the appearance of the British and South African variants, announced Thursday the Ministry of Overseas.
"Since February 1, 3 municipalities (Bouéni, Pamandzi and Dzaoudzi Labattoir) were confined due to the observation of particularly high incidence rates (...) In order to limit the strong circulation of the virus, it was decided to 'extend confinement to the entire territory of Mayotte from Friday, February 5, 6 p.m. (Mayotte time), for a period of three weeks, "said a statement from the ministry.
According to the press release, this decision is justified by a "very strong increase in hospitalizations of Covid cases in recent days": "77 patients are currently hospitalized and 11 patients are in intensive care".
From January 3 to February 3, the incidence rate rose from 50 to 415 / 100,000 inhabitants with a positivity rate of 17%
More than 23,000 contaminations in 24 hours
More than 23,000 cases of Covid-19 contamination have been recorded in 24 hours in France, where hospital pressure remains high against a background of the progression of more contagious variants, according to data from Public Health France published on Thursday.
The number of contaminations (23,448) is down compared to the previous day (26,362), but remains on a high plateau, fluctuating between 20,000 and 26,000 since January.
The positivity rate is stable at 6.7%.
In 24 hours, 360 people were swept away by Covid-19 disease in hospital (compared to 358 the day before), bringing the death toll to 77,952 since the start of the epidemic in France
The situation remains tense on the front of hospitals, which currently welcome 27,766 patients (-187 compared to Wednesday), including 1,752 new admissions.
Among them, 3,240 patients are treated in the intensive care units, including 275 who arrived in the last 24 hours.
The Brazilian variant detected in France
Four first cases of infection with the Brazilian variant of the coronavirus have been detected in France, in addition to the English and South African variants, the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran said Thursday.
We know "since yesterday" that there are "four cases of variant of Brazilian origin, in particular in the Var, in the Aura region (Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes) as well as in Reunion", declared Olivier Véran during of the press conference alongside the Prime Minister.
One of these cases is "a woman who was returning from Manaus in Brazil" and passed through Sao Paulo, Frankfurt, Paris and Marseille.
"We want to limit as much as possible the diffusion of these variants, to gain time to be able to vaccinate and protect the most fragile among us", assured the Minister of Health.
However, "the variants, because they are more contagious, are gradually replacing the Covid 19 in the form we know", he warned.
"The so-called British variant has the particularity of being more contagious, but a priori not more serious", recalled Olivier Véran.
The South African and Brazilian variants "worry us even more, first because there is less data on the infections they cause, then because some studies tend to show that there are more re-infections, and finally because we lack elements to be fully sure that the vaccines would be as effective on these variants ", he underlined.
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A new vaccine in sight in the United States
The pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson on Thursday filed a request for conditional authorization of its Covid-19 vaccine with the American health authorities, who will study it within three weeks.
At the end of the procedure, if it obtains the green light from the American Medicines Agency (FDA), this vaccine would be the third authorized in the United States, after those of Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna.
"Vaccine passports"
Sweden and Denmark announced Thursday that they would develop electronic "vaccine passports" to facilitate travel abroad, but also to access sporting or cultural events, or even restaurants in the Danish case.
Quarantines on arrival in the UK
The British government confirmed on Thursday that residents of the United Kingdom arriving from countries deemed at risk will have to observe ten days of quarantine at the hotel, from February 15, in order to avoid importing potentially resistant variants of the vaccines.
Red Cross plan for vaccination
The Red Cross on Thursday launched a plan with 92.5 million euros to help poor countries set up vaccination programs.
According to an analysis by the organization, nearly 70% of vaccine doses administered so far have been in the 50 richest countries on the planet, while 0.1% have been injected in the 50 richest countries. poorer.
According to an AFP count made Thursday from official sources, more than 116 million doses of anti-Covid vaccines have been administered at this stage in at least 82 countries or territories.
Vaccines: Pyongyang's request for help
North Korea has made a request to receive nearly two million doses of Covid-19 vaccine, as this isolated country claims to be free of the virus.
This is the first official confirmation that Pyongyang has requested international assistance.
More than 2.26 million dead
The pandemic has killed more than 2.26 million people worldwide since the end of December 2019, according to a report established Thursday by AFP from official sources.
The United States is the most affected country with 455,555 registered deaths, ahead of Brazil (228,795 deaths), Mexico (161,240), India (154,703) and the United Kingdom (109,335).
The number of victims is globally underestimated.
It is based on the daily reports of the national health authorities but excludes the ex post revisions carried out by statistical organizations as has been the case in Russia, Spain and the United Kingdom.