The French government imposed a month-long lockdown on Paris and parts of northern France after a shaky vaccination of the vaccine and spread of many contagious coronavirus variants forced President Emmanuel Macron to move off course.
Since the end of January, when he challenged the calls of scientists and some in his government to shut down the country, Macron has said he will do whatever is necessary to keep the eurozone’s second largest economy as open as possible. This week, however, he was given no more options, just as France and other European countries briefly suspended the use of the Oxford / AstraZenca vaccine.
Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday that France was in the grip of a third wave, with the virulent variant first detected in Britain now accounting for around 75% of cases. Intensive care units are under severe stress, especially in Paris, where the incidence of every 100,000 inhabitants exceeds 400 infections. “The epidemic is getting worse. Our responsibility now is not to allow it to escape our control, ”Castex told a news conference.
France reported 35,000 new cases on Thursday and there were more Covid patients in intensive care in Paris than at the height of the second wave. ‘Four weeks, the time required to give the measures sufficient impact. [It is] the time we need to reach a threshold in vaccinating the defenseless, ‘Castex said.
The exclusions begin on Friday at midnight in France’s 16 worst-hit departments, with the exception of one on the Mediterranean, a corridor from Calais to the capital. Barbers, clothing stores and furniture stores will have to close, but bookstores and other stores that sell essential goods may remain open.
Schools will remain open and people will be allowed to practice outside within a 10 km radius of their homes. Travel from the worst-hit areas was not allowed without a compelling reason. “Go outside, but do not party with friends,” the prime minister said.
Castex said France would resume vaccinations with the AstraZeneca vaccine after the European Medicines Agency confirmed it was safe. Castex has tried to increase public confidence in the vaccine, which is essential if France wants to meet its targets, and he will get the chance on Friday. “I am confident that public confidence in the vaccine will be restored,” he said, though acknowledging that it could take time.
Although Macron has not ordered a nationwide exclusion, the new restrictions could, if necessary, be extended to other regions and could still delay the country’s economic recovery. The Paris region is home to almost a fifth of the population and accounts for 30% of economic activity.
A nationwide night clock that has been installed since mid-December remains, though it starts an hour later at 7 p.m. The government did not regret not locking in earlier, Castex said. “It was the right decision in January. We would have had an unbearable exclusion of three months. We did well not to do that. ”
Not everyone agrees. In the intensive care unit of a private hospital on the outskirts of Paris, doctors resigned because they had to deal with overloaded wards again. “We are here again,” said Ward Chief Abdid Widad.