The coronavirus epidemic keeps on spreading and despite the launch to the vaccine campaign and the lockdown in November, France does not manage to go under 5,000 coronavirus cases per day, which would have enabled to lift some restrictions off: the average new case toll is above 20,000 daily cases. The threat of more transmissible variants is another issue, the French were more and more expecting the pending announcement of a new lockdown.
Yet, at this stage, the French government has not decreed the return of this measure. Even though new restrictions have been instated last week, including the closure of shopping malls beyond a specific size, some questions are still unanswered. For instance, we still do not know how long the curfew has been extended for if not replaced by another lockdown.
This Thursday February 4, 2021, Castex held a press briefing during which several ministers including Olivier Véran addressed the situation in turns. The Prime Minister then announced the current situation in France does not justify another lockdown at this stage. Even though the incidence rate remains really high nationwide, the government considers the latest data are stable and allow to give its chance to curfew from 6 p.m. currently instated in the country.
Covid: Health pass, vaccination, local restrictions, Jean Castex' latest announcements
