Objective soon reached in France.
The country is preparing to pass the milestone of 20 million people this weekend having received at least one dose of vaccine against Covid-19, just before easing health constraints, Wednesday, by reopening shops, terraces and places cultural.
"I am reasonably optimistic. This evening we should achieve the collective objective that we had set ourselves, namely 20 million first-time vaccinated by May 15," Prime Minister Jean Castex said during a visit to France. a vaccination center, Saturday May 15, Porte de Versailles, in Paris.
"This reinforces the prospects for exiting the crisis which are also reinforced by the evolution of the data of the epidemic which is regressing everywhere" in France, added the head of government.
20 million French people vaccinated!
To all those who mobilized to achieve this objective: thank you for your commitment and your exceptional mobilization.
To all of our eligible compatriots who have not yet been vaccinated: go to https://t.co/sGpUtk5csy.
pic.twitter.com/Io2X9hrZ5F
- Jean Castex (@JeanCASTEX) May 15, 2021
We must "go and find the most vulnerable"
As of Friday evening, 19.7 million people had received at least one injection and 8.7 two injections (13% of the total population and 16.6% of the adult population).
The government has set a target of 30 million first-time vaccines in mid-June and since Wednesday opened vaccination to over 18s, without conditions, for doses available overnight.
Demand is strong and on the Doctolib platform, the rare slots available during this extended Ascension weekend are tearing up, some do not hesitate to cheat on their age or invent co-morbidities to get an appointment. you.
We must "seek out the most vulnerable", the elderly or those with associated pathologies, insisted Jean Castex, indicating that 25% of those over 75 have not received the first injection.
At the same time, the decline continues in the hospital with 4,352 Covid-19 patients on Friday evening in critical care services, against 6,001, reached on April 26.
Coveted terraces
While the vaccination campaign is in full swing, some of the bars and restaurants are preparing to welcome customers on the terrace from Wednesday, when cultural venues, cinemas, theaters, museums will also reopen, with reduced gauges, and where the curfew will pass to 9 p.m.
Impatient to get back to life before, the French are already reserving en masse for their lunches and dinners.
While the Scientific Council, which guides the government's choices in the health crisis, called for a reopening "conducted in a prudent and controlled manner" to avoid a "possible fourth wave", government spokesman Gabriel Attal judged on Saturday that "we have real reasons to be optimistic".
"Vaccination is really a game-changer," he says in a daily La Provence interview.
"Real-life observation could show protection against the transmission of the virus", he continues, assuring that "the epidemic has been considerably slowed down thanks to the respect by our fellow citizens of the measures taken".
To prevent the health situation from deteriorating with the arrival of travelers from countries where the virus is actively circulating, France extended, on Friday, the mandatory ten-day quarantine to four new countries: Colombia, Bahrain, the Costa Rica and Uruguay.
The Indian variant, detected in at least 44 countries including France, also raises fears, but its effects in terms of transmission and dangerousness are still very poorly understood.
From Monday, the French will be able to travel on vacation to Portugal, which on Saturday lifted the restriction on tourist travel for most European countries.
With AFP
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