France Braces For Possible New Lockdown Measures As Covid-19 Deaths Mount

[appalachiablue]

Source: France24

Macron is to address the nation on Wednesday evening to present new measures that will be decided at back-to-back meetings of the defence council and cabinet, the presidency said.

"We have to prepare for difficult decisions," Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin told France Inter radio. "At some point we have to make hard choices ... as our neighbours have," he said, referring to strict new measures announced for Italy, Spain and elsewhere in Europe.

Many French doctors are urging a new nationwide lockdown, noting that 58 percent of the country's intensive care units are now occupied by Covid-19 patients and medical staff are under increasing strain.

“The government didn’t take into account what the first wave was and didn’t learn all its lessons,” Frederic Valletoux, president of the French Hospital Federation, said Wednesday on France Inter radio. He called for a full, month-long lockdown, saying “this wave will be much more devastating for the hospital system. Hospitals won’t manage if we don’t take drastic measures.”

Read more: https://www.france24.com/en/france/20201028-france-braces-for-possible-new-lockdown-measures-as-covid-19-deaths-mount

[Thyla]

1. Just been con¡firmed.

[appalachiablue]

2. Thanks

[GoneOffShore]

3. Just watched the broadcast. Oh frabjous day.

As of Friday 30 Oct 2020, France goes back into ‘confinement’. Macron said that full details will be announced tomorrow, but it’s more than likely we will be under the same restrictions as we had in March and April.

Working from home is ‘encouraged’, schools remain open, restaurants and cafés are closed, as are ‘non-essential’ shops. We’ll be able to go out for exercise, but not in groups. No social gatherings. We’ll be able to go food shopping, necessary medical appointments, visit elderly relatives in care facilities. Building sites remain open, along with some other workplaces.

Everyone will have to carry an ‘attestation’ detailing where you live, what you’re going out for, and what time you left your residence. Last time we were allowed a 1km radius from home for exercise and an hour a day. Travel into or outside of France is restricted except for essential travel.

Masks are obligatory outside in city centers and in stores and offices.

Happy, happy, joy, joy.

[EllieBC]

5. Schools are open still?

I’m honestly surprised.

[appalachiablue]

7. That surprised me as well; schools still open w young exposed?

Doesn't sound right.

[EllieBC]

8. Schools are essential though for some kids.

Kids with diverse learning needs. Kids of essential workers.

And we need kids to get educated. We don’t need cafes and bars.

[GoneOffShore]

10. And kids of 'moyens modestes' - low income families

President Macron mentioned this more than a few times in his address.

As to the 'café's and bars', well, for some people in the larger cities and towns, those are the places that allow them out of their small apartments and where they can interact with the world. Café's and bars fulfill the same function here that pubs have in the UK and Ireland. A picture I saw recently in the Irish press showed an older man, sitting alone with a pint of beer, a plate of food, and staring out the window near his table in the pub. Because of tight restrictions he wasn't able to talk to his friends.

[EllieBC]

13. YES! And even here on this forum those kids are forgotten.

Do we need more photos of kids in places like CA sitting outside a Taco Bell to get free WiFi to attend online school?

Regarding the cafes, I do agree. Early on I was lambasted here for telling the suburban home owners that they don’t understand what they asking when they tell urban dwellers they need to sit in their tiny apartments and not leave.

[winstars]

4. Wait, I thought after 11/3 no one will talk about Covid Covid Covid???

[progree]

6. For some perspective, U.S. and some major European countries.

Daily new cases, 7 day moving average, per 100,000 people
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/world/coronavirus-maps.html

12  Germany
22  U.S.A.
31  Italy
33  U.K.
39  Spain
57  France
117  Belgium (not a major, but shows how high some significant countries can get)

muriel_volestrangler showed me this tool, a chart of 7 day rolling average of DEATHS per million, but you can pick cases, tests, and many other things instead.

The link looks like this:

https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus-data-explorer?zoomToSelection=true&time=2020-07-07..2020-10-28&country=USA~GBR~DEU~NLD~FRA~ESP~ITA®ion=World&deathsMetric=true&interval=smoothed&perCapita=true&smoothing=7&pickerMetric=new_cases_per_million&pickerSort=desc

but I can't get the link to "stick together"

Oh Rats, just go to https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=2615192
where it works somehow.

[DFW]

9. I was afraid of this. So were many of my French colleagues

I had some things I HAD to do down there, and they said whatever you do, get down before the end of the week. So I went down there today. I'm already back home in Germany. Looks like I was on one of the last lifeboats off the Titanic. I don't know when I'll be able to go down there next.

[GoneOffShore]

11. Here's more info on the restrictions.

*Key points from President Macron's address Wednesday 28th October*
➤ From this Friday morning 00h00 there will be general confinement for all the country
➤ Only able to be out of home for work, travel to education establishments as detailed below medical appointments, essential shopping or special circumstances with attestations downloaded and completed
➤ Teletravil will be restated where possible
➤ No reunions, meetups etc allowed
➤There will be a limit on travel with some allowance this weekend for those returning from holiday but after that only able to take walks or excise close to home
➤ Public services will remain open, bars restos will be closed, non-essential commerces
➤ Chomqge partial will be continued, economic support for enterprises including small and independents will be reopened.
➤ Creche, ecoles, colleges and lycee will remain open but subject to increased restrictions. You will receive updates direct from your children's establishment; Universities will close and learning for those will be at distance
➤ EU boarders open but all exterior boarders will be closed
➤ Visits to retirement homes/EPHAD et will remain possible subject to restrictions
➤ Tomorrow all will be put before Parliament and there will be further details released via a Press Conference
➤ They will re-evaluate the situation after 15 days and if there has been sufficient improvement in the chiffres then some commerces may possibly be reopened. They want to do so if possible to help with the run up to Christmas for businesses.
➤ We are in an epidemic situation with numbers doubling within the last week, and it is countrywide, Europe-wide.
➤ Our efforts and strategies to live with the virus have not been successful or sustainable in limiting the spread with the evolution of the virus as the temperatures have dropped.
➤ A brutal break is required to stop the spread to protect all of France and its population and the health system and the economy.

[Thyla]

12. Just trying to create some breathing space for Christmas

is all and prepare for the brutal mid winter 3rd wave that will inevitably be on it's way because they will not do what needs to be done after lockdown.

In saying that though I hope Spain is not far behind and calls a total lockdown too, frankly I just want them to mandate work from home again but the EU as a whole have messed this up when really I expected better from them.