“There was no bet” on the health of the French: the government spokesman, Gabriel Attal, firmly defends in the Journal du Dimanche the decision taken in January not to reconfine the country in the face of Covid-19 .
“If it was possible to return to January 29, we would take the same decision, assures Mr. Attal in an interview, referring to the surprise decision then taken by President Emmanuel Macron, while a reconfinement was widely expected.
The spokesperson cites the examples of neighboring countries: “Germany, in strict confinement since mid-December, is still so and cases are increasing. Italy is entering a fourth confinement because the epidemic is starting again at a gallop.” .
“The key to ending the crisis is not confinement but vaccination”, he pleads with the JDD: “Some are pleading for permanent confinement. We want to get there with as few restrictions as possible “.
To the newspaper which asks him if the bet of the Head of State has been lost, he retorts: “There was no bet. We do not bet on the health of the French and we do not take decisions also heavy on assumptions, but on facts “.
However, he notes, “the outbreak of the epidemic announced for mid-February did not occur. The forecasts announced 30,000 contaminations per day in mid-March after a one-month confinement. We are today, seven weeks later, arrived at these same figures thanks to the efforts of all without having confined nationally: it was therefore the right decision “.
Asked about the possibility of loosening the constraints in mid-April, he continues to judge this objective “attainable”.
“When we have vaccinated a sufficient number of people at risk, hospital pressure will drop, which will give us a chance to loosen the constraints by this time,” he said: “That remains the objective, in a context nonetheless worrying epidemic and marked by the spread of the British variant. “
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