Covid-19: faced with the Omicron variant, Macron goes back to the front – LaDepeche.fr

After 21 months of the Covid-19 epidemic, the arrival of the Omicron variant makes the world reconnect with the dizzying figures of contamination that we experienced at the start of the pandemic but also with the disorganization of our societies. The Europe region is the one with the most cases in the world, with 2,901,073 in the last seven days (55% of the world total), as well as the most deaths with 24,287 deaths last week (53% of the total) , followed by the USA / Canada zone (10,269.22%). Saturday, for the first time, the barrier of 100,000 new daily cases was crossed in France.

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Denmark and Iceland also announced new daily case records, as did Greece, which was to close bars and restaurants at midnight yesterday and limit tables. The United States are also approaching their record of contaminations, with nearly 215,000 new cases recorded on Sunday, a jump of 83% in 14 days. The New York health authorities have even sounded the alarm on “the increase in pediatric hospitalizations associated with Covid-19” (read below).

Videoconferences from Fort Brégançon

In addition to the 8,300 international or domestic air routes canceled this weekend, tens of thousands of flights were delayed. The disruptions continued yesterday (nearly 2,500 canceled flights) and will continue today (more than 800), according to the FlightAware website. And yesterday, According to the American CDC, the main public health agency in the United States, we learned that more than 60 cruise ships are being investigated by the authorities after the appearance of cases of Covid-19 on board.

An explosion of contaminations and the threat of a paralysis of economic activity due to work stoppages and the isolation of contact cases: this is the situation which the executive was confronted with yesterday. At 4 p.m., from Fort Brégançon where he spends the end of year celebrations, Emmanuel Macron chaired a health defense council to reassess the health situation and take new braking measures. Then the Head of State chaired an extraordinary Council of Ministers with on the agenda the bill establishing the vaccination pass to replace the health pass. This new pass, which will be discussed in Parliament in January, will stipulate that it will be necessary to have been vaccinated (or cured of Covid) and to have received a booster dose to enter certain places.

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For several days, the government assured that everything was on the table in terms of tracks to slow the progress of Omicron which should supplant Delta shortly. Everything… except a new confinement, a real red line which has nevertheless been crossed by several European countries and also by China. For less than 200 cases, Beijing has confined the 13 million inhabitants of the city of Xi’an, which will also be fully disinfected.

“Vaccination remains at the heart of our strategy”

Yesterday evening, Prime Minister Jean Castex, the grave mine, estimated that with Omicron, “a new wave is breaking.” “The seven-day rolling trend is now over 70,000 cases. The national incidence rate is thus higher than 700, that is to say the highest since the beginning of the crisis, and we deplore 122,677 deaths due to the virus ”, detailed the Prime Minister, who hammered the will of the government – au- beyond the criticisms of certain epidemiologists or political figures – to bet on vaccination as the main weapon against the coronavirus.

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“Vaccination remains at the heart of our strategy, as in that of neighboring states. […] While vaccination does not prevent infection or transmission of the disease, it reduces the risk of being infected and the risk of transmitting the disease. But above all, it protects against the serious forms of the Covid and this remains true for the Omicron variant ”recalled the Prime Minister in an educational way, explaining being challenged by vaccinated French people who wonder about the effectiveness of vaccination.

To further accelerate the French vaccination rate, Jean Castex announced new measures such as shortening to 3 months the time between the second dose and the booster dose.

“A film that never ends”

Criticizing those who resort to health faux pas – “a deliberate act of endangering others” – and promising them severe sanctions, the Prime Minister then confirmed the implementation of the vaccination pass on January 15 if he is voted on in Parliament. Then he listed the measures expected on large gatherings or greeting ceremonies or maintaining the start of the school year to January 3 despite the call from doctors to postpone it by a week.

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On the economic side, the government has also decided to bang its fist on the table in the face of procrastination from the social partners by announcing an obligation of three days of weekly teleworking for three weeks. On the other hand, on the thorny issue of the isolation of contact cases, Jean Castex has made an appointment by the end of the week.

“It all seems to be a film that never ends,” conceded Jean Castex, who however explains that progress has been made since Mauricette’s vaccination a year ago. “Let us remain mobilized, united, determined. There is no other way to overcome this epidemic ”, concluded the Prime Minister.