Covid, half of France declared a “red zone”

Published on: 09/21/2020 12:12 PM

Most of France is now declared a “red zone”. Specifically, 50 departments are classified in the “zone of active circulation” of the virus, after the publication yesterday of a new decree in the Official Gazette. This was reported by the French media, according to which Aveyron, Calvados, Doubs, Eure, Gers, Indre-et-Loire, Marne, Haute-Marne, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Saône-et-Loire, Tarn, Vienna and the Belfort Territory joined the list, which continues to grow as Covid-19 spreads. Overseas Reunion, Guadeloupe and Martinique, Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélémy are also added to the list.

The transition to an “active circulation zone” is linked to several indicators, the Ministry of Health explains on its website: “The incidence rate, hospital pressure, the number of examinations performed, the rate of positive tests, the evolution the number of clusters “. The classification allows to increase the detection capacity and strengthen the measures to block the advance of the virus.

SCHOOL CLOSED WITH AT LEAST 3 CASES – Despite the increase in infections, starting tomorrow in France in nursery and primary schools there will no longer be the systematic closure of a class in the three cases of Covid-19 positive students. This was announced by the French Ministry of Education, specifying that the measure will not affect middle and high schools. However, if a student tests positive, the courses can continue for the remainder of the class, which is no longer considered a series of potential risk cases. Until now, students who had potentially been in contact with the positive child could only return to school after a negative test performed seven days after the last alleged contact with the infected partner. The protocol will be applied to identify the people who came into contact with the positive case, their possible isolation, the possible closure of a class or even an entire school with at least three confirmed cases in the same class from different families. The kindergarten or elementary school teacher who has worn a mask and has been around a positive, unprotected student should not isolate himself. A decision that reflects the opinion of the Higher Council of Public Health of France according to which children “have a low risk of contracting serious and not very active forms of Sars-Cov-2 transmission.” In France, 89 public and private schools are closed due to infections, out of a total of 61,500.

French Health Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer rejects the accusations of “contradictions” made in the Paris government after the decision to relax the anti-Covid-19 health protocol in schools. Speaking on RTL, Blanquer stressed that “children infect each other very little” and confirmed the closure of classes in kindergarten and primary school based on at least three positive cases. “When there are three cases, we will be in a position to close a class.” Today, he added, “a little more than two thousand classes are closed in France, a figure that will drop with the new protocol.”