The Covid-19 epidemic is not over, exiting lockdown is barely considered. And yet, as the deadline for phase 2 of the lockdown exit strategy set on December 15, 2020 is just around the corner. A few days before Christmas, how can France reconcile health protection and Holiday celebrations? This is the government’s current brain-teaser, caught up in data not as good as expected: an average 15,000 extra cases per day, according to Santé Publique France, are reported.
Furthermore, the chief of government does not hide his distress faced with the seriousness of the situation: “As I am intellectually liberal, I shouldn’t care about what happens in families. And now, I must tell people how they shall celebrate [the Holidays]” Jean Castex confesses to journalists this Wednesday evening, during a trip to Essonne, as reported by Libération. The same morning, a health Defense Council was held at the Elysée with President Macron and ministers involved to address the next steps of the health crisis.
Politicians and doctors are laying the groundwork
Prior to the December 10’s press brief, genuine institutional mass held on Thursdays, people close to the power and other members from the majority have been working hard to lay the groundwork leading to lifting lockdown partially. “What is sur is that there will be restrictions, strong measures for the weeks to come, that might deprive the French of liberty, but protect the weakest among us” Gérald Darmanin argues on France Info on Thursday December 10 in the morning.
Same call from LREM deputy general Stanislas Guerini interviewed on Public Sénat at the same time. “It’s hard not to allow one another to meet one’s family again” the leader of the parliamentary majority said. According to news shared by RMC, the executive is leaning towards making curfew start at 8 p.m. rather than 9 p.m. with reopening venues during the third phase, naming January 20, 2021. A form of partial lockdown exit, if one can say. Will it make this impossible situation easier?
2600 nouveaux cas aujourd’hui de personnes Covid+ en IdF, exactement le double d’hier. L’épidémie garde de la force. Mettons la même force collective à la freiner avant les les fêtes de fin d’année.
— Aurélien Rousseau (@aur_rousseau) December 9, 2020
Tweet reads: “2600 new Covid+ cases in [Ile-de-France] today, twice as many than yesterday. The epidemic still goes strong. Let’s use the same collective strength to halt it before the Holidays”.
Therefore, politicians are not the only worn to wave a red flag as to the current danger of the epidemic. Île-de-France regional health agency director Aurélien Rousseau tweets: “2600 new Covid+ cases in [Ile-de-France] today, twice as many than yesterday. The epidemic still goes strong. Let’s use the same collective strength to halt it before the Holidays”. One thing is sure, Christmas 2020 will be like no others.
