News
Incidence rate continues to decline - Ahead of Wednesday’s reopening of shops and terraces the incidence rate in the Alpes Maritimes continues to decline. Public Health France reported 79 cases per 100,000 inhabitants on Thursday May 13th. The last time the incidence rate was this low in the region was in September of last year.
Vaccination - Meanwhile according to French media, France’s Minister of Health Olivier Veran has said that following the decision in France to reserve the AstraZeneca vaccination to those over 55, anybody under 55 who has already received a first dose of AstraZeneca, will therefore be given the Pfizer vaccine as a booster.
France's “health pass” - The French “health pass” will be required in France from the second stage of the progressive end of lockdown on June 9th in order to attend trade fairs and other events with over 1,000 people. Meanwhile the European Commission has said that France’s health pass and passes from other countries can be used for travel within Europe from June 17th. Finally from June 30th, the third and final stage of the end of lockdown in France, the pass will allow people to attend concerts and festivals.
What wil it look like? The health pass will consist of one of these three documents: a certificate of a negative covid virological test, a vaccination certificate or a certificate of recovery from covid.
These documents, which contain a Datamatrix (a kind of QR Code) allowing authentication, can be presented in paper or digital format to the authorities. They are delivered by hand or in PDF version by the authority carrying out the test or vaccination, and can be stored via the TousAntiCovid Carnet application. The test results can also be downloaded from the sidep.gouv.fr platform. The vaccination certificate can, for its part, be downloaded from the end of May via a specific teleservice set up by the Medicare.
MPs question why nightclubs remain closed yet swingers’ clubs reopen - Some French MPs have expressed their confusion at the government's easing of covid restrictions which will see nightclubs remain closed, but swingers' clubs reopen.
With the next phase of easing lockdown measures scheduled for May 19th, outdoor dining and drinking will be allowed while shops, cinemas, museums and theatres will be able to reopen. And so will some swingers' clubs. But nightclubs, which have now been closed for 14 months, still don’t know when they will be able to reopen with the government's calendar suggesting it will not happen until July at the very earliest. Some MPs have pointed out the "incoherence" of the government's strategy.
In other news
Road accident - A couple in their twenties have been taken to hospital in a critical condition following a road accident shortly after 7pm on Thursday evening. The man and woman, who were on a motorcycle at the time, hit a safety barrier on the A8 motorway westbound just before the exit for Les Adrets. Emergency services intervened and the couple were taken to hospital in Nice.
Mayor of Nice calls for ban on pro-Palestinian demonstrations - The mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi has followed in the footsteps of France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, calling for a ban on pro-Palestinian demonstrations this weekend. Estrosi announced the request to the prefect of the Alpes Maritimes on Twitter. The elected official, who recently left Les Républicains, argues that the ban is to avoid "the risk of disturbances to public order” citing the previous disturbances caused by similar demonstrations on Avenue Jean Médecin back in 2009.
Weather warning - Météo France has issued a yellow weather alert for the Alpes Maritimes from midday today. Thunderstorms, strong winds and heavy rain are expected mainly inland, in particular in the Mercantour with a risk of arriving on the coast warn Météo France. The warning is in place until 6pm this evening.
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