Jean Castex will detail Thursday March 4 at the end of the day the new decisions taken by the government to curb the Covid-19 epidemic while tensions remain high in the hospital system and the disparities between territories remain.
If the epidemic hardly shows any real signs of slowing down, the government wants to believe in a gradual return to normal from April by combining restrictions and acceleration of the vaccination campaign while avoiding the establishment of a new generalized confinement with formidable economic consequences.
“Let’s stand firm. Let’s not resign ourselves after so much effort,” government spokesman Gabriel Attal said Wednesday after the cabinet meeting.
"We are still going to face hardships, it is true, but for the first time in months, the return to more normal lives is in sight," he added, referring to the progress in accelerating the vaccination campaign against Covid-19.
This calendar corresponds to that sketched by the Head of State, Emmanuel Macron, who mentioned the idea of "holding" another "four to six weeks", during a trip to Seine-Saint-Denis on Monday.
Evolution of the incidence rate
On the epidemic front, France recorded nearly 27,000 cases of coronavirus contamination on Wednesday.
Covid-19-related deaths have increased by over 300 in 24 hours in hospitals, bringing the total to 87,542 deaths since the start of the epidemic in the country.
The whole of France is currently subject to a curfew every evening from 6 p.m.
Particularly affected by the pandemic, the metropolises of Nice (Alpes-Maritimes) and Dunkirk (North) are preparing to experience a second weekend of containment, from March 5 at 6 p.m. to March 8 at 6 a.m.
Prime Minister Jean Castex will hold a press conference at 6 p.m. with the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran.
From a government source, it is specified that the Île-de-France region should escape confinement at the weekend, but not the Pas-de-Calais where the evolution of the incidence rate worries the authorities.
Like nineteen other departments, including the eight that make up the Île-de-France region, the Pas-de-Calais is placed on heightened alert.
This list could evolve, with the addition of new departments and, on the contrary, the withdrawal of some others where the situation is improving, it was specified Wednesday from a government source.
With Reuters
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