Measures in place for several weeks in some departments are showing positive results, government spokesman said, but pressure on hospitals remains high
The current 10 km lockdown restrictions in place across France are not expected to last more than four weeks, the government spokesman said.
Gabriel Attal told LCI yesterday: « We don’t expect them to exceed four weeks at this point. »
Mr Attal did not rule out changes, saying: « We should never rule anything out in the future [but the government] is already starting to see signs that we can be optimistic about the measures in place, the epidemic. starting to stabilize [in the 16 and 19 departments closed first].
« It encourages us to continue, to continue [with the measurements]. »
But he added: “The president has announced a timetable. We have announced a timetable because we know, we hope, that all our efforts will allow us to stick to it. «
He said President Emmanuel Macron – who announced the lockdown measures in a televised speech on March 31 – could make another televised speech on the subject « by the end of the month. »
Lock release?
Mr Attal said there were currently « no specific criteria announced at this stage to lift the measures » but that in the coming weeks the government would reassess the « dynamics of the epidemic ».
He said: “We have to get out of this exponential rise. The spread of the virus is reaching a crescendo. «
But he said the vaccination « was a game changer » and would allow the government « to plan to lift some constraints » in the near future, and possibly by the end of April.
He said the government plans to expand the vaccination campaign as quickly as possible, starting with teachers, especially those who work with children with disabilities (around 80,000 people), and in May, « to expand that. professions which are particularly exposed ”to Covid19.
High hospital pressure
Despite optimistic forecasts, pressure on hospitals remains high. There were 5,341 Covid patients in intensive care last week, up from 4,872 a week earlier.
In the past 24 hours, there have been 270 new intensive care admissions, Public Health France said. The number of hospital admissions in general is also on the rise, with 29,356 Covid patients now admitted – a record since November 2020 – including 1,224 new admissions in 24 hours.
The number of daily deaths is relatively stable, at 185 deaths in the last 24 hours (up from 187 the day before), but it has fallen from 131 seven days ago.