French Prime Minister Jean Castex has said that "many doses" of Covid-19 vaccines will arrive in June and new vaccination centres will be opened. He urged everyone to continue to respect health restrictions.
Sante Publique France has said that there has been a decrease in the Covid-19 incidence rate for the fourth consecutive week and there has been a decrease in new hospitalizations and critical care admissions but there is still high COVID-19 mortality. The organization said that the Île-de-France and Hauts-de-France continue to be the regions most affected bu the virus.
Sante Publique said that an increase in the Indian coronavirus variant has been observed in the last two weeks but it believes there is currently no "significant" spread of the variant in France. In an update issued yesterday, it said that just over 18,550,000 people have received at least one vaccination dose, meaning there is a vaccination coverage of 27.6%. The full vaccination coverage is 13.1%.
Four new countries have been added to the French government's quarantine list. Travellers from Bahrain, Colombia, Costa Rica and Uruguay will have to undergo mandatory quarantine upon arrival in France. The four new countries are in addition to the existing twelve countries on the mandatory quarantine list.
1,013 people received an injection at the Municipal Vaccination Center in Antibes yesterday, bringing the total number of people vaccinated to 42,708. Mayor of Antibes Jean Leonetti expressed his thanks to the administrative and health staff for vaccinating more than 1,000 people on a bank holiday. The center will be open tomorrow. You can enquire about appointments by calling 0805 020 445 or by going directly to the centre at 288 chemin de St Claude in Antibes.
The Prefect of the Var has reminded residents that eight temporary coronavirus testing centres have been set up in the Var, in addition to those in urban areas. Testing is free and there is no need for a prescription. The centres are located in Toulon, Hyeres, Draguignan, Valletta, Bandol, Saint-Raphaël and Saint-Julien. You can find more details on the Prefecture's website www.var.gouv.fr
BUSINESS
Airbnb has said that holiday bookings have risen in some countries as lockdowns are eased. It said that in the first quarter US bookings were above pre-pandemic levels and that there was a "steady improvement" in business in the UK and France. Revenue rose year-on-year, but it recorded a net loss before tax of $59m as it paid back Covid-related loans.
Amazon has announced the creation of 10,000 new permanent jobs in the UK. The new jobs will bring Amazon’s total UK workforce to more than 55,000 this year. The company said that it is also partnering with the British Chambers of Commerce and local businesses to identify regional skills shortages to focus training on local needs and will invest £10 million over three years in training up to 5,000 employees in new skills to meet the UK’s future employment needs outside of Amazon.
IBM has said the worldwide computer chip shortage could last another two years. Speaking to the BBC, its President Jim Whitehurst said "we are looking at a couple of years… before we get enough incremental capacity online to alleviate all aspects of the chip shortage." He said that there is a "big lag" between when a technology is developed and when a factory goes into construction.
SPORT
Motorsports... The Turkish Grand Prix has been cancelled and replaced by a second race in Austria to be held on 25-27 June. Turkey is on the UK's travel red list of high-risk countries.
Tennis...Rafael Nadal has beaten Alexander Zverev in straight sets in the Italian Open quarter-finals. He'll now face American player Reilly Opelka who beat Argentina's Federico Delbonis.
Rugby Union... The British and Irish Lions' schedule for this summer's tour of South Africa has been changed because of coronavirus health concerns. The team will now play eight matches in three cities rather than six. The three locations are Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town.
There’s one game in the Gallagher Premiership in England tonight. Bath play Sale. In the Guinness Pro 14 Rainbow Cup Munster play Connacht and Leinster play Ulster.
Football... It’s the FA Cup final tomorrow. Chelsea are playing Leicester at Wembley. Kickoff is at 6:15pm our time.
Fifa have approved a change in nationality for Aymeric Laporte from French to Spanish. The approval means that the Manchester City player can now play for Spain at Euro 2020 this summer.
In the English Premier League this weekend, there’s one game tonight. Newcastle play Manchester City. On Saturday, Burnley play Leeds. Southampton play Fulham and Brighton host West Ham. On Sunday Crystal Palace play Aston Villa. Spurs play Wolves. West Brom host Liverpool and Everton play Sheffield United.
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