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 Since late January, when he defied the calls of scientists and some
in his government to lock the country down, Macron has said he would
do whatever it took to keep the euro zone's second largest economy
as open as possible.
However, this week he ran out of options just as France and other
European countries briefly suspended use of the AstraZenca vaccine.
His prime minister, Jean Castex, said France was in the grip of a
third wave, with the virulent variant first detected in Britain now
accounting for some 75% of cases. Intensive care wards are under
severe strain, notably in Paris where the incidence rate surpasses
400 infections in every 100,000 inhabitants.
"The epidemic is getting worse. Our responsibility now is to not let
it escape our control," Castex told a news conference.
France reported 35,000 new cases on Thursday and there were more
COVID patients in intensive care in Paris than at the peak of the
second wave,
Now was the time to tighten restrictions, Castex said.
"Four weeks, the time required for the measures to generate a
sufficient impact. (It is) the time we need to reach a threshold in
the vaccination of the most vulnerable."
The lockdowns will kick in from Friday at midnight in France' 16
hardest-hit departments that, with the exception of one on the
Mediterranean, form a corridor from the northern Channel port city
of Calais to the capital.
Barbers, clothing stores and furniture shops will have to close,
though bookstores and others selling essential goods can stay open.
Schools will stay open and people will be allowed to exercise
outdoors within a 10 km (6.2 miles) radius of their homes. Travel
out of the worst-hit areas will not permitted without a compelling
reason.
"Go outdoors, but not to party with friends," the prime minister
said.
TOO LATE?
Castex said France would resume inoculations with the AstraZeneca
vaccine now that the European Medicines Agency had confirmed it was
safe.
[to top of second column] |
 Seeking to shore up public
confidence in the Anglo-Swedish vaccine,
critical if France is to hit its targets, Castex
said he would get the shot on Friday.
"I am confident public trust in the vaccine will
be restored," he said, though he acknowledged it
might take time.
Although Macron stopped short of ordering a
nationwide lockdown, the lockdowns may be
extended to other regions if needed and may yet
slow the country's economic recovery.
The Paris region is home to nearly one fifth of the population and
accounts for 30% of economic activity.
A nationwide nightly curfew in place since mid-December remains in
place, though it will start an hour later, at 7 p.m.
The government had no regrets about not locking down earlier, Castex
said.
"It was the right decision in January. We would have had an
unbearable three-month lockdown. We did well not to do so."
Not everyone agrees. In the intensive care unit of a private
hospital on the edge of Paris, doctors expressed resignation at
having once again to deal with overloaded wards.
"We're back here again," said ward chief Abdid Widad.
Health Minister Olivier Veran said some hospitals would start using
monoclonal antibodies which are synthetically manufactured copies of
infection-fighting proteins, on certain patients at high risk of
progressing to severe illness.
(Reporting by Geert De Clercq, Sudip Kar-Gupta, Benoit Van
Overstraten, Richard Lough, Matthias Blamont; Additional reporting
by Clotaire Achi; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Alexandra Hudson)
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