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HEALTH

France prolongs Covid restrictions and UK border closure as PM warns ‘we cannot lower our guard’

France 'cannot lower its guard' in the fight against Covid-19, warned the prime minister on Thursday as he prolonged restrictions on daily life including the nighttime curfew and closure of bars and cultural centres.

France prolongs Covid restrictions and UK border closure as PM warns 'we cannot lower our guard'
French Prime Minister Jean Castex, left, and Health Minister Olivier Véran. Photo: AFP

Prime Minister Jean Castex announced that all of the current Covid-19 restrictions would remain in place for the weeks to come.

This includes the nationwide curfew and the total closure of bars, restaurants, cafés, gyms, cinemas, theatres, museums and tourist sites.

“The time has not come to return to normal . . . We still admit one person to intensive care every seven minutes,” Castex said, “and one in two people in intensive care are there for Covid-19.”

The country will remain under an 8pm – 6am curfew but the earlier 6pm to 6am curfew – already in place in 15 départements in eastern France – is set to be extended to another 10 départements, mostly in the east, after consultation with local authorities.

According to reports in French media the 10 départements are: Haut-Rhin, Bas Rhin and Haute-SAvoie in the east, Côte d'Or, Yonne, Cher and Allier in central-eastern France and Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Vaucluse and Bouches-du-Rhône in the south east.

Border to stay closed with UK

The partial closure of the border with the UK will remain in place until further notice, the PM said to prevent the spread of a new variant of the coronavirus which is thought to be more infectious. 

France closed its border with Britain on December 20th 

At present only certain groups of people are allowed into France from the UK – French or European citizens, those who live in France or another EU country and essential workers – and everyone must present a negative Covid-19 test at the border.

Second-home owners, tourists and those visiting family remain barred.

READ ALSO UK travel ban – who can enter France and what paperwork do they need 

France lifted its second nationwide lockdown on December 15th, and hoped to reopen cultural centres like cinemas, museums and theatres in January, followed by bars, restaurants, gyms and cafés later in the month.

However the health situation was not good enough to allow this and “all activities and facilities that are closed today will remain closed until the end of the month,” said Castex.

The situation will be reviewed again on January 20th, with the aim of a possible reopening for some sectors in mid February, if the health situation permits.

Ski resorts, which had hoped to get a green light to get back in business, will have to wait until at least early February, along with cinemas, theatres and other cultural sectors. Bars and restaurants would not be able to reopen until mid February at the earliest, the prime minister said.

Health officials fear a 'post-Christmas spike' of cases following increased travel and socialising over the holiday period, while the situation in several areas of eastern France is once again a cause for concern.

Reporting of case numbers has been slightly erratic due to the effects of public holidays and weekends, but the Prime Minister said that cases remain at an average of 15,000 a day – more than three times the target of 5,000 to reopen bars but a number that has remained roughly stable since the start of December.

Castex also said that France was doing much better than many of its neighbours, with an incidence rate half that of Switzerland and Germany and eight times lower than the UK, a difference he said was 'undoubtedly' due to France introducing its second lockdown in October.

 

Concerning the “variant anglais”, the mutant strain of the virus first identified in the UK, France is to start genetic sequencing of all its PCR tests, as well as increasing testing in schools and keeping in place the requirement for negative Covid-19 tests for all arrivals from the UK.

The health minister also laid out details of the ramping up of France's Covid-19 vaccination programme, which has been widely criticised for being too slow, saying the programme would be 'amplified, accelerated and simplified'.

READ ALSO ANALYSIS Are France's anti-vaxxers the real reason the Covid-19 vaccine rollout is so slow?

The vaccine is currently being given to staff and residents in France's Ehpad nursing homes and to healthcare workers who are aged over 50 or who have health conditions.

This will be expanded from Monday, January 18th when anyone aged 75 or older can make an appointment for the vaccine.

People can make an appointment with their regular doctor if they have any concerns they want to talk through, or their can make an appointment directly via a special phone number of via the sante.fr website.

A simplified process for the vaccination has also been laid out, instead of a compulsory medical consultation people can now make an appointment, fill out a questionnaire, sign a consent form and then receive the injection from either a doctor or a nurse.

By the end of January 600 vaccine centres will be open. 

Véran concluded the vaccine was the way in which France will be able to return to normal life, urging people to “get vaccinated, encourage your loved ones to get vaccinated, take the opportunity that science is offering.”

 

Member comments

  1. Has anyone in France heard if we will be subject to the same idiotic UK rule whereby the second Covid-19 vaccination won’t be two/three weeks after the first one [as recommended by virtually all medical opinion] but up to 12 weeks later?

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HEALTH

How serious is the threat from dengue fever in France?

As tiger mosquitoes are now present in over 80 percent of mainland France, health authorities are worried that local transmission of tropical diseases, like dengue fever, will increase.

How serious is the threat from dengue fever in France?

As of January 2024, tiger mosquitoes – known for their ability to carry diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus – had been detected in 78 of France’s 96 mainland départements, including the Paris region.

This has left public health authorities concerned about the spread of dengue fever in France, particularly this summer as large crowds are expected amid the Olympic Games.

READ MORE: MAP: Tiger mosquitoes reach northern France

How common is dengue fever in France?

In the first four months of 2024, 1,679 cases of dengue fever were identified in mainland France, a number that is 13 times higher than the same period last year, Le Parisien reported.

Crucially, however, none of these are believed to have been contracted in mainland France – they were all reported among patients who had recently travelled from the tropical regions where dengue fever is common.

The majority of cases were from people who had visited the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe – where the disease is endemic.

These islands are for administrative purposes part of France – so often show up in French health data – but they are roughly 7,000km away from Paris.

So far, there have not been any indigenous cases (autochtone – or people infected on mainland French soil) yet this year.

Local transmission of the disease remains relatively rare. In 2023, nine separate outbreaks of indigenous dengue transmission were identified, one of which occurred in the Paris region. These led to 45 cases of local transmission (in mainland France).

Most were in southern France – in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Occitanie and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions – though one outbreak occurred in the Paris region, according to French public health authorities.

This is less than 2022, which was a notable year with 66 total cases of indigenous dengue fever were recorded. In comparison, between 2010 and 2021, only 48 cases (total) were recorded.

What to expect for 2024

Experts believe that the number of cases in France, including indigenous ones, will grow this year, as tiger mosquitoes now occupy more territory in mainland France.

On top of that, the number of cases has increased significantly in Martinique and Guadeloupe.

“What we see in France is a mirror image of what is happening in the French Caribbean, and more widely in Latin America and the rest of the Caribbean, where dengue fever has been circulating since the start of the year at unprecedented levels”, the head of Santé Publique France, Dr Caroline Semaille, said during a press conference.

The Olympic Games will also bring an influx of tourists from all over the world, and weather conditions are expected to be conducive to mosquitoes – a year with a lot of rainfall, and potentially high temperatures. 

What is dengue fever?

The disease is spread to people from bites by infected mosquitoes.

The most common symptoms are high fever, chills, abdominal, joint and muscle pains, and vomiting. It can also cause a skin rash that resembles measles, according to France’s Institut Pasteur.

Symptoms usually begin three to 14 days (with an average of four to seven) after being bitten.

However people are asymptomatic in 50 to 90 percent of cases (depending on the epidemic), which can make monitoring difficult.

At-risk groups include the immunocompromised, children and the elderly, who are more likely to suffer from severe forms of the disease.

Deaths from the disease are very rare, occurring in around 0.01 percent of all cases, almost all in countries that have poor healthcare systems.

How can I avoid tiger mosquitoes?

Female tiger mosquitoes lay their eggs in water, and they can lay several hundred eggs at once. Therefore try to avoid having any standing water outside your home and be aware of the items that might collect rainwater.

This includes regularly emptying vases, flower pots, as well as watering cans and pots. If you want to collect rainwater, you could cover water butts with mosquito nets or fabric to keep the mosquitoes from getting inside.

READ ALSO 5 plants that (allegedly) repel mosquitoes

You can also keep your gutters clean – this helps to keep the water flowing when it rains, and it avoids any stagnant pools from building up.

To protect yourself, try to wear long, loose and light-coloured clothing, in addition to insect repellent. You might also consider wearing a mosquito net head gear.

The main difference between tiger mosquitoes and other species would be getting a bite during the day, and the fact that tiger mosquitoes are likely to bite several times. You can tell for sure if it was a tiger mosquito by seeing the insect itself. They are also silent.

There is no immediate cause for alarm if you are bitten, in almost all cases the bites are just itchy and annoying. In very rare cases, tropical diseases can be spread by the mosquitoes – seek medical help if you develop a high fever and rash.

READ MORE: How to prevent the spread of tiger mosquitoes in France

What do tiger mosquitoes look like?

They are very small, about 5 mm, and they have a highly contrasting colour, with black and white stripes on their body and legs.

If you believe you have spotted a tiger mosquito, you can report it to public health authorities online.

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