Positive cases? Down 30% in one week. Hospital admissions? Down 25% in one week. After reaching very high levels during this fifth wave, the indicators of the Covid epidemic have been falling for several weeks in France. It is for this reason that the government has announced new reductions in the measures in place, which will come into force on Monday. We take stock.
End of the mask in places subject to the vaccination pass
Cinema, theatre, restaurant… From Monday, it will be possible to take off the mask in closed places subject to the vaccination pass, except in long-term transport (train, bus, etc.) decree published on Saturday warns, however, that wearing a mask can be kept compulsory by the prefect of the department “when local circumstances justify it”.
Having the lower face protected is already no longer imposed outdoors since February 2. But it will remain so in public transport and in places that are not subject to the vaccination pass, such as hospitals and company offices.
A single test for contact cases
Following the opinion of the High Council for Public Health (HCSP), the government has decided to impose a single test on vaccinated contact cases, instead of three. The sample must be taken two days following learning that you have met a Covid-positive person. It can be a self-test, an antigen test or RT-PCR. Logically, only one test will now be provided free of charge in pharmacies, instead of three until now, according to a decree published on Saturday.
As a reminder, no isolation is required for vaccinated contact cases. But the Ministry of Health recommends a “strict application of barrier measures, including the wearing of a mask”.
Back to school lightened
A new school zone, that bringing together the academies of Besançon, Bordeaux, Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon, Grenoble, Limoges, Lyon and Poitiers, is back to school this Monday. And the health protocol goes from level 3 to level 2, with very concrete consequences for the students. Wearing a mask is no longer compulsory for them outdoors and during indoor sports lessons (except for contact sports), while the rules limiting mixing in the canteen have been relaxed.
The mask remains compulsory for students from the age of 6 and for teachers in indoor spaces, especially classrooms. The Ministry of National Education, Jean-Michel Blanquer, has indicated on several occasions that he hopes to end this obligation next spring.
The end of the vaccination pass in mid-March?
Olivier Véran detailed, Thursday, February 22, the indicators which will make it possible to put an end to the vaccination pass, except perhaps in discotheques. It will be necessary for the number of Covid patients in critical care to have fallen to 1,500 (2,500 today), for the incidence rate to drop below 500 (currently around 700) and for the reproduction number R to be durably below 1. This last criterion implies that the epidemic is not starting once more.
If the current rate of decline continues, these thresholds would be reached around March 15 or 20. The Minister of Health himself evokes the prospect of mid-March, saying he wants to “prevent new contamination due to too rapid a release”.
