French Health Minister Olivier Veran has said that he expects vaccination will be opened for children aged 5 to 11. He said that this will probably start at "the beginning of January", if the balance of risk against benefits is positive, which would be decided by the High Authority of Health. Such vaccination would be on an optional basis. Speaking to Franceinfo he also said that vaccination could be opened for children with co-morbidities between mid-December and the end of December once the children's doses of the Pfizer vaccine had begun to arrive. The minister said that no formal decisions had yet been taken.
The French government has reminded people aged 65 and over that as of December 15, vaccination certificates for those vaccinated with the Moderna, Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines will no longer be valid if a booster has not been given within six months of infection or seven months after the last injection.
The Monaco government has announced the extension of the health pass requirement to the staff of places open to the public who require the pass for their customers. The requirement will be in force from December 15 until 31 January inclusive. It said that in recent weeks, the Covid-19 virus has "resumed very active circulation" and the number of infections is increasing. The staff of restaurants, bars, hotels and games rooms will be subject to the presentation of a health pass. All people working in places or events requiring the health pass for their visitors, spectators, clients or participants will be affected by the new requirements. This also includes technical and administrative staff working on site, with the exception of delivery activities and emergency response. The government also stated that for non-professionals, such as customers of restaurants or hotels, or spectators of a major cultural or sporting event, the validity period of PCR or antigen tests is now reduced to 24 hours, given the rebound in the epidemic.
It's been announced that France and the United Arab Emirates have signed a contract for the provision by France of 80 fighter jets and 12 helicopters. The contract is reportedly worth 17 billion euros. President Macron is visiting Dubai today, his first stop on a tour of Gulf states.
Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi has visted works which have been continuing to repair damage to roads caused by Storm Alex last year. On the RM2205, the road layout has been improved to once again allow heavy goods vehicles to use the road. The work was carried out for a cost of € 510,000. At the Pont de la Lune work costing € 1,185,000 was carried out to consolidate the retaining slope of the road. Works were also carried out on the RM6202 between the Gare de la Tinée and La Mescla.
BUSINESS
Inflation in Turkey has risen to an annual rate of 21.31%, which is the highest level in three years. The Turkish Lira has fallen sharply in recent months, driving up the cost of imports.
The services sector in France remained strong in November, with a survey of purchasing managers reaching a 5-month high. However, price pressures intensified again.
Meanwhile, retail trade volumes in the euro area rose in October by 0.2% and by 0.3% in the EU compared with September, according to estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
SPORT
Motorsport... Charles Leclerc emerged unscathed from a 150mph crash in second practice for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix this evening. The crash brought the session to a premature end with five minutes to go. Lewis Hamilton was fastest in the session and was also fastest in first practice this afternoon.
Cricket... England have had their last warm-up day playing against the England Lions before the first Ashes Test against Australia begins on Tuesday. A number of players swapped sides or returned to bat for a second time during the match to gain practice. Ben Stokes hit six fours in 56 balls and reached 42 runs before retiring to allow others to bat.
Football...In the Premier League this weekend. On Saturday West Ham play Chelsea, Newcastle are against Burnley, Southampton are at home to Brighton, Wolverhampton play Liverpool and it's Watford against Manchester City. On Sunday Leeds are at home to Brentford, Manchester United play Crystal Palace, Tottenham play Norwich and Aston Villa play Leicester.
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