The fifth wave of the epidemic requires the executive to act, five months of the presidential election. But neither confinement nor closing of shops are on the agenda.
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“The master of time is the virus, unfortunately,” said Emmanuel Macron last March. Eight months later, the scenario repeats itself, like a curse. If the COVID-19 never really disappeared from the landscape, the President of the Republic thought he had kept the health issue at a distance thanks to the dramatic progression of vaccination during the summer. The subject seemed sufficiently distant to allow the tenant of the Elysee to project themselves towards the presidential election of April 2022 by praising a positive message made of economic recovery, from reindustrialisation and, more generally, “hope”.
Las, five months of the vote, the coronavirus, which contaminated to Prime Minister Jean Castex, dictates again the sanitary and politico-media agenda. Tuesday, November 23, 30,000 new cases were recorded in the last twenty-four hours – a level that had not been observed since the spring of 2021 – and 6,000 classes had to be closed.
The fifth wave of the epidemic overlooking France in a “dairy” manner, according to the words of the government spokesman, Gabriel Attal, obliges the executive to act to contain the outbreak and, above all, avoid the thrombosis of hospital services. Wednesday, November 24, a new health defense counsel must enlighten the head of state in his choices. “As every time, we advance in the light of science, with pragmatism,” warned Emmanuel Macron, on Monday, during a trip to Amiens.
In detail, no measure depriving citizens of freedom of travel or restricting commercial activity is on the agenda. At this point, it is not necessary to reinforce barrier measures that had, in recent weeks, been relaxed, such as the wearing of the mask indoors or the recovery of gauges during gatherings. Difficult, for now, to go further. “The limit of tolerability, it would be the masks to put back in the street. But wanting to put people back in confinement, it is like trying to refill a bottle of champagne, it would not work,” summarizes the Republic on the move. (LRM) of the Rhône, Bruno Bonnell. But the question is to expand access to the recall dose.
Possible openness to all adults of the vaccinal reminder
To date, only over 65 years old have the opportunity to carry out this third dose, under pain of losing their sanitary pass as of December 15th. And at 1 December, over the age of 50 will, in turn, have access to this vaccine reminder. On Wednesday, the government could announce “a global agenda” to extend it to other age groups, deciding, or not, to include it in the sanitary pass. Despite calls from a portion of the opposition to render the so-called “comfort” tests again, this option remains removed by the executive.
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