A Health Defense Council is meeting this Monday, December 6 at the Elysee Palace. Faced with the 5th wave which is starting to impact hospitals and the threat of the Omicron variant, what avenues could the government favor?
Jean Castex said Thursday that a Health Defense Council would be held on Monday to see “if there is a need to take additional measures”. Like some of its neighbors, France could take new restrictive measures to try to curb the “dizzying curve ” contaminations, as government spokesman Gabriel Attal called it. Containment, curfews and business closures already seem to have been removed.
Generalize teleworking?
If the use of teleworking was recently encouraged by the Minister of Labor, it has not been imposed on companies. “Today, we are not going to set an obligation for companies, but I invite employers to promote teleworking and to define the rules with employee representatives”, declared Élisabeth Borne on franceinfo, on November 26
The new protocol disseminated by its services last Monday nevertheless recalled that “audio or videoconference meetings should be favored “.
Many specialists, including the president of the Scientific Council, Jean-François Delfraissy, have called for teleworking to be generalized “to face the fifth wave”. Will the government listen to them?
Extend the wearing of the mask?
If the national instruction no longer requires the wearing of a mask in the public outdoor space, the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, announced Thursday its generalization to all closed places, even those where the sanitary pass is required.
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In many departments, including Aude and the Pyrénées-Orientales, wearing a mask is already compulsory outdoors in the vicinity of certain places such as schools or during gatherings or festive events on the public highway.
The government could study the return of a national rule imposing the mask everywhere outside.
Strengthen the health pass?
Today, the health pass is compulsory in long-distance transport, bars, restaurants, cinemas, museums, hospitals and retirement homes. It is also in demand in many territories during festive events such as Christmas markets. This will also be the case in Perpignan from this Monday.
The Health Defense Council could discuss an extension of its scope to new activities. The question of the return of the gauges, even in places where the pass is required, would also be on the table according to LCI.
Bring forward the Christmas holidays?
Like Belgium, which announced Friday that the school holidays would be brought forward by a week, could France take a similar decision. Especially since last April, the Easter holidays had been unified for the three zones for two weeks, after a week of school at home.
Although suffering very few severe symptoms and the age group least affected by the lethal forms of Covid, 6-10 year olds experience a very high incidence rate, at 754 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Vaccinate those under 12?
The issue of vaccination for 5-11 year olds, which some countries in the world have chosen at present, should be addressed during this Health Defense Council. For the time being, the High Authority for Health (HAS) has not recommended the vaccination of 5-11 year olds presenting a “risk of developing a serious form” (around 360,000) or “living in the entourage of immunocompromised people“. It has not yet pronounced on an extension to the entirety of this age group.
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Covid-19: HAS offers vaccination for fragile children
According to a document from the Ministry of Health presented Friday to representatives of hospitals, clinics and liberal caregivers and consulted by AFP, the Health Defense Council should propose a “precise schedule for the vaccination of fragile 5-11 year olds.” Could this timeline also include all children under 12?
Nothing is less certain, since in addition to that of the HAS, the opinion of the National Consultative Ethics Committee (CCNE), requested by the government, is still awaited on the subject.