an acceleration of the virus? Nearly 800 new confirmed cases

COVID-19. This Friday, the assessment of the coronavirus in France rose to 3,661 confirmed cases, or 800 cases more than yesterday. The Minister of Health also announced that 79 people have died and 154 are still in serious condition. Update on the Covid-19 epidemic live.

The Minister of Health Olivier Véran took stock this Friday evening on the results of the coronavirus in France. The number of confirmed cases now stands at 3,661, or more than 800 new cases compared to the previous assessment. To date, 79 people have died, and 154 others are still in serious condition, notably in the intensive care unit. The Minister confirmed that the spread of the virus has accelerated in the territory. This is particularly the case in the most affected regions, such as Alsace, Oise, Aude, Calvados, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Île-de-France, Corsica and Occitanie. Olivier Véran even described the Covid-19 epidemic as an “unprecedented health threat”.

After Emmanuel Macron’s speech on Thursday evening, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe returned this Friday to the news at 1 p.m. TF1 on the government’s strategy to deal with the coronavirus epidemic in France. To “delay the epidemic peak”, the Prime Minister announced “braking measures”. These measures concern in particular the prohibition of gatherings of more than 100 people throughout the territory, but also the closure of schools and crèches. A closure which should last “as long as it is necessary”, underlined Édouard Philippe, before specifying that “the first meeting point” will probably be the Easter holidays. Public transport is maintained.

Concerning municipal elections, point of concern for many French people, the Prime Minister assured that it was no more dangerous to go to vote “than to do your shopping”. According to him, the second round of the municipal should be organized “in good conditions”. The Minister of Culture then urged museums and libraries to limit their activities or to close. In Île-de-France, the Louvre, the Palace of Versailles, the Musée d’Orsay are notably closed. In Marseille, the Mucem also announces its closure. Several theaters and concert halls have canceled all their events.

Thursday evening, Emmanuel Macron produced a televised speech followed by 19 million French people on the various channels which covered this news. Centered on the Covid-19 coronavirus which has affected France for several weeks, this speech by the Head of State was marked by several highlights, the most important of which is the closure of schools and universities “until further notice” from this Monday, March 16. The President of the Republic also judged that France was only at the beginning of the epidemic and appealed to national solidarity to “curb” the virus. Here is the summary of these measures:

• Nurseries, schools, colleges, high schools and universities closed. Emmanuel Macron has decided to close schools and creches all over the country on Monday March 16. If the head of state did not indicate a duration, the Minister of Education said this Friday morning that we should expect a closure of several weeks. “What is quite certain is that we are going to go at least until the spring break,” said Jean-Michel Blanquer on France Inter. And to mention the baccalaureate: “The main scenario is still to maintain” the bac. “We really hope that in June the epidemic will be more behind us than before us,” he added. For her part, the Minister of Labor Muriel Pénicaud said that a work stoppage was possible automatically “if you have a child under 16 who has a nursery or school, and if teleworking is not possible “.
• State aid for companies in difficulty. Faced with the economic threat looming after the stock market crash on Thursday (-12% in Paris, sharp fall in all European markets, Wall Street interrupted), Emmanuel Macron promised “a national and European recovery plan consistent with our priorities “. Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, came to add this Friday morning on BFM TV / RMC that “no employee will lose a penny”. “The State will take care of technical unemployment, for all the employees. It will be the most expensive device for the State but also the most effective I am convinced of it. The most precious good for a company, it is its salaried employees. We must not lose them, “he said.
• Municipal maintained – After consulting with scientists and elected officials, the Head of State nevertheless decided to maintain the municipal elections, these Sundays March 15 and March 22. “Scientists believe that there is nothing to prevent the French from going to the polls, even the most vulnerable,” he said. “They will have to watch out for the respect of gestures and barrier measures”, he nevertheless added. A decision that seems to go in the direction of the opinion of the French, if we are to believe the Odoxa-Dentsu Consulting poll for Le Figaro carried out just before the intervention of Emmanuel Macron. 64% of those questioned said they approved the continuation of the poll.
• Priority to fragile people – Emmanuel Macron asked “all people over the age of 70”, those “suffering from chronic illness” or “disability”, to “stay at home as much as possible”. He also reminded that we should not visit the older people in the nursing homes. “I count on you to take care of the most vulnerable,” he said. The winter break will be postponed to prevent evictions for two more months.
• Telework in companies – “When possible, I ask companies to allow employees to work from home,” also pleaded the head of state, while inviting all French people “to limit their trips to what is strictly necessary”. The state will pay compensation to employees forced to stay at home, he said, indicating that an “exceptional and massive mechanism of partial unemployment” will be implemented.
• No border closures – Emmanuel Macron called for “avoiding nationalist withdrawal”. “This virus does not have a passport,” he added. It does not rule out control measures or even border closures, but they will have to be decided “on a European scale”.
• Reminder of “barrier” gestures – Emmanuel Macron urged the French to respect the “barrier” gestures communicated by the Ministry of Health and Public Health France for several days: do not shake hands or kiss, wash your hands regularly “long and with soap “, sneeze or cough in his elbow, use disposable tissues … Gestures that would not be adopted enough. “All of these measures are necessary for the safety of all of us, I ask you to unite around them.”

The number of patients who died from coronavirus has also increased sharply since Tuesday evening. 79 people have died from Covid-19 in France since the first fatal case, a Chinese tourist who died in Paris on February 15. Jérôme Salomon gave information on these victims. Most of those killed by the coronavirus were over the age of 75 and had chronic illnesses.

The transition to stage 3 is “inevitable” according to Emmanuel Macron, even if it has still not been pronounced by the authorities. “More than knowing whether it is a stage 2 or a stage 3 or a stage 2 and a half, what counts is the measurements”, explained Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on the set of TF1 this Friday March 13 . Stage 3 is the most important alert planned by the Ministry of Health: the logic then changes compared to Stage 2, since it is no longer a question of slowing the progression of the virus, but of preserving the functioning of society as much as protecting the population. In addition to increased mobilization of the health system and its staff, stage 3 locally allows drastic restrictions on visits to collective accommodation establishments, the suspension of all or part of public transport, the ban on all gatherings. The closings of schools, a measure announced Thursday March 12 in the evening by Emmanuel Macron, were also included! Price and stock control of certain products may also be imposed, as well as travel bans in cities. Measures that are not automatic, but which could be taken on a case-by-case basis and which have already been taken. A few days ago, the Director General of Health Jérôme Salomon indicated however that “the transition from one stage to another has nothing to do with the dangerousness of the virus, it simply involves a gradation, but above all a continuity in care “.

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