France is currently lifting a number of corona restrictions. Among other things, there will no longer be any restriction on how many people are allowed to stay in restaurants, cinemas, shops and other public arenas in the country.
The relief comes as a surprise to some. For at the same time as the reopening, proven cases of the more contagious delta variant of the coronavirus increase.
Every fifth person in France with corona is now diagnosed with Delta infection, NTB wrote yesterday.
WARNING: At the same time as today’s new reliefs, President Emanuel Macron’s corona advisers warn that the country will probably be hit by a fourth wave of infections this autumn. Photo: Benoit Tessier / AFP / NTB
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Doubled
On Tuesday morning, Minister of Health Oliver Veran told French radio that the delta variant accounts for 20 percent of all new cases of infection in the country.
One week ago, about 10 percent of new infections were of the delta variant of the coronavirus, according to the news agency Reuters.
Seven virus clusters have been discovered in companies or old people’s homes, said Didier Couteaud from the regional health service in western France during a video press conference, reports The Guardian.
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Fourth wave
At the same time as today’s new reliefs, President Emanuel Macron’s corona advisers warn that the country is likely to be hit by a fourth wave of infections this autumn, according to Sky News.
– We will probably get a fourth wave of infection, but it will be smaller than the previous three, because more have been vaccinated, says doctor Jean-François Delfraissy, who sits on the president’s corona panel, to French Inter Radio.
He estimates that the fourth wave could hit the country in September and October.
Several medical experts express concern about this scenario, and pressure has increased on the government to introduce stricter security measures.
Opens for quarantine-free travel
– Will not lighten
On Monday, 509 new corona infections were registered in France, and a total of 1819 new cases of infection were registered in the last week. It is one of the lowest French infection rates in almost ten months, according to NTB, which also writes that a third of French people are fully vaccinated to date.
In the Landes region, which includes Bordeaux, authorities have said they will not ease the number restrictions yet since few in the region have been vaccinated.
Elsewhere in France, there is no longer a maximum capacity of 1,000 people at events, whether indoors or outdoors. However, participants must be able to present a vaccine passport, negative PCR test or proof that they have recently had covid-19.
Defies warning – opens up
Next relief
Sports events may also open to more than 5,000 people in attendance, but festivals, which often attract large crowds, will likely still be subject to strict rules throughout the summer, according to NTB.
The use of face masks is still mandatory in public spaces indoors, and in crowds outdoors.
The next corona reliefs are scheduled for July 9, when French nightclubs reopen.
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