Europe : New restrictions in place in France due to surge in Covid19 cases
Health officials in France activated an emergency plan on the Mediterranean island of Corsica as a fourth wave of Covid infections spread across the country.
The government also announced it was reactivating a package of measures designed to support medical staff as they brace for a fresh intake of cases. More of France’s popular coastal areas meanwhile reintroduced the compulsory wearing of masks in a bid to stem the incoming coronavirus tide.
The government also announced Tuesday it would reintroduce overtime bonuses for hospital workers, as well as compensation for paid holidays they could not take because of pressure of work.
The situation in Corsica was likely hurt by the traditional surge of departures and arrivals of holidaymakers at the end of July: more than 130,000 people were on the move there last weekend.
Several coastal resorts around France have also reintroduced compulsory mask wearing less than two months after the authorities lifted the restriction.
In northwest France, Brittany’s Finistere area, on Monday ordered people to cover their mouths and noses outdoors after an increase in Covid cases. Masks have been compulsory outdoors in the Morbihan area of Brittany since last week.
Pfizer Inc and Moderna Inc has raised the prices of its Covid-19 vaccine in the latest European Union supply contracts. The new price for the Pfizer shot was €19.50 ($23.15) against €15.50 previously, the newspaper said citing to the portions of the contracts seen.
Last Tuesday, the European Commission said that the EU is on course to hit a target of fully vaccinating at least 70 percent of the adult population by the end of September. In May, the EU said it expects to have received more than a billion doses of vaccines by that time from four drugmakers.
The World Health Organization has urged wealthy countries to share vaccine doses rather than go for booster shots, as new outbreaks gather pace in countries in Asia and Africa, where a far smaller proportion of the population has had access to vaccinations.
Meanwhile, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has once again updated the travel rules imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has announced that entry measures will apply to unvaccinated travellers arriving from regions of France, Greece, Portugal, and Switzerland. As for the countries and regions outside the EU/Schengen Area, Denmark has placed Fiji and Iraq in the red category. This means that, among other things, arrivals from the two countries will now be subject to stricter self-isolation and testing requirements.
