Containment in Pas-de-Calais began on Saturday March 6 and will be in effect for four weekends, i.e. until March 28, to curb an outbreak of the Covid-19 epidemic, particularly in nearby areas du Dunkirk, announced the prefect.
"It was decided to put in place a partial confinement on weekends for four consecutive weekends" which entered into force on Saturday at 6 a.m. at the end of the curfew, announced the prefect, Louis Le Franc, Friday March 5, during a press conference in Arras.
A derogatory certificate is required to travel during these hours, for various reasons such as essential purchases or trips 5 km around the home for one hour.
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The prefect also announced the generalization of the wearing of masks throughout the department, including in rural areas, the ban on alcohol consumption and the broadcasting of music on public roads, as well as the closure of stores with a floor space of over 5,000 m².
"These businesses will be able to continue to have an order pick-up activity (...)", he said.
"I call on the inhabitants of Pas-de-Calais to limit their movements" by respecting a "maximum distance of 20 km around their home", including during the week, also declared Louis Le Franc.
According to the prefect, the incidence rate is 406 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the department, against "245 two weeks ago".
Three large vaccination centers deployed
The prevalence of the English variant in the department is 68.5% of cases, with also "on the mining basin two other variants, Brazilian and South African", he said, judging that "the pandemic explosion" since in mid-February in Dunkirk, in the neighboring department of Nord, "had repercussions on Pas-de-Calais".
"We are on the verge of saturation in terms of hospital capacity", with "90% of the hospital capacity mobilized", he warned.
In order to speed up the vaccination campaign, three large-scale centers will be deployed this weekend in Boulogne, Calais and Béthune, in addition to the 23 existing centers.
"Globally, it is more than 20,000 additional doses", with 10,000 announced for this weekend and 10,000 delivered during the month of March, "which will be allocated to the Pas-de-Calais department," said Reynald Lemahieu, departmental director of the Hauts-de-France Regional Health Agency (ARS).
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According to a press release from the ARS on Friday, 26,910 doses of Pfizer vaccine are allocated urgently for the weekend in the Hauts-de-France region, "exclusively dedicated to primary injections", including 10,530 doses in the North and 7,020 in Pas-de-Calais, which is also to receive 3,500 doses of AstraZeneca.
In the North, the authorities note a "significant drop in conventional hospitalizations, not yet resuscitation," reported Benoît Vallet, director of the ARS by videoconference.
"People are returning to the hospital less."
"The figures are turning in the right direction, but we are still very, very worried in the area of Dunkirk and Pas-de-Calais," added Philippe Chazelle, of the regional Union of health professionals.
The prefect of the North, Michel Lalande, for his part indicated that he "would not hesitate to extend the confinement" in Dunkirk if necessary.
With AFP
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