Jean Castex, Prime Minister, during his speech at the Montpellier University Hospital this Tuesday:
« I say it today with a form of gravity: if we do not react collectively, we expose ourselves to a high risk of an epidemic resurgence, which will be difficult to control. »
The epidemic is “evolving in the wrong direction”
In France, the situation “has deteriorated over the past few days,” stressed the head of government. “For about two weeks now, the epidemiological situation, which we are monitoring very closely, is indeed evolving in the wrong direction,” with notably “2,000 cases per day, compared to about a thousand three weeks ago.”
Moreover, “the number of hospitalizations (800 per week) and admissions to intensive care units (100 per week) are rising again on a national level. Twenty-five new clusters are identified every day, compared to about 5 per day three weeks ago. All this is concerning.”
To explain the deterioration of the situation, Jean Castex shared “the observation of a lesser vigilance, lesser discipline, lesser solidarity, on the part of some among us, probably a minority but too many.”
“Taking advantage of the summer, the holidays, we are observing more family, friendly, festive gatherings, which are all occasions for the virus to spread,” he regretted. The contamination is now developing in the younger age groups.” The head of government promised “communication and educational actions, particularly aimed at young people and populations who may wrongly feel less exposed.”
A call to generalize mask-wearing outdoors
“I will ask the prefects to approach local elected officials to extend as much as possible the obligation to wear masks in public” outdoor spaces, announced Jean Castex. “In 330 municipalities, the obligation to wear masks has been decreed in the most frequented public areas,” he affirmed, reminding that a decree has allowed this since August 1st. “We need to go further.”
A strengthening of controls
“We are going to intensify control actions to ensure the effectiveness of measures” to fight against the epidemic, promised the occupant of Matignon. This will involve “a targeted control plan” developed by the prefects in each department, which “will lead to fines for offenses when they are observed.”
Beyond fines, new possibilities will be offered to state services, notably to impose partial closures of establishments open to the public, “for example beyond a certain hour,” in case of unsatisfactory control.
