What is the French government’s response as the country faces the new Covid-19 English variant? As in Europe and especially in the United-Kingdom the health situation is dramatically degrading with the surge of a new strain of coronavirus, the executive is highly awaited.
A health defense council was held on Wednesday January 13, 2021 at the Elysée Palace. La République en Marche head Stanislas Guerini said in the evening that the goal of this measure is to "go against the pre-dinner drink effect", he said to justify a measure that could enable to "slow" the spread of Covid-19 down in departments early curfew is already implemented in.
This Thursday January 14, 2021, decisions were made. At a press brief, Prime Minister Jean Castex officially announces nationwide curfew from 6 p.m. in mainland France. So far, the measure was only instated in 25 departments that exceeded the incidence rate threshold of 200 positive cases for 100,000 inhabitants. The measure is to be implemented from Saturday January 16, 2021 for at least two weeks. It also leads to the closure of public facilities from 6 p.m.
Lockdown excluded, or only during the weekend
This Wednesday January 13, 2021 Le Figaro says the executive is thinking about mixing two restrictive measures to better stop the spread of Covid-19 in France and help fight against the dangerousness of the English variant. Therefore, nationwide curfew could be implemented from 6 p.m. and mixed with nationwide lockdown in the weekend, on Saturdays and Sundays. The idea is to limit social interactions as much as possible.
At the same time, other leads are considered by the government, naming new nationwide lockdown, partial and regionwide lockdown, or even status quo. The measure might be implemented afterwards, depending on the evolution of the health situation.
