Lunchtime News Friday 24th December 2021

News

Woman throws herself under a train - A woman has thrown herself under a train at Mandelieu train station. The tragic incident occurred this morning Friday, December 24th shortly after 9am. Train services were completely halted between Cannes and Les Arcs in both directions until at least 11.30am following an announcement from the SNCF. 

Children hospitalised with covid - Five children are currently hospitalised for covid at the Lenval hospital in Nice, some do have comorbidity factors, and none have developed a severe form. But doctors have warned of symptoms which appear to be similar to that of "Kawasaki disease" including prolonged fever, gastric problems, rash and conjunctivitis.

Meanwhile France's High Health Authority has this morning issued new recommendations concerning the vaccination schedule in France, reducing it to a 3-month gap before the booster jab and also advocates a booster jab for adolescents most at risk.

Doctor says that extending Christmas holidays is a wise move - The head of the infectious disease department at the Tenon hospital Gilles Pialoux, has said that it is "desirable" to postpone the beginning of the school year in January due to the current health situation. Adding that "extending the Christmas school holidays would be a wise measure this year.

Survey shows that majority of French people plan to celebrate Christmas as "normal" - According to a recent survey a majority of French people plan to celebrate Christmas as "normal". Despite the record number of contamination of covid in recent days and the surge of the Omicron variant, 9 out of 10 French people plan to have dinner or lunch with family to celebrate Christmas Day. The poll was carried out by Odoxa/Backbone Consulting for Le Figaro. The survey also showed that about three quarters of French people say they will not wear the mask (72%). 57% will not respect the recommendation of a distance of one meter between each person and only 1 in 4 French people (24%) plan to get tested and ask other guests to do so.

French President arrives at Fort Brégançon - French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived at Fort Brégançon in the Var, one of the official residences of the Élysée, where he will spend Christmas.

And Finally

Men are set to spend up to 1.5 billion pounds in the UK today dubbed as "Manic Manday", as they purchase last minute Christmas presents. From Chocolates to underwear, along with makeup and perfume, more than two thirds of the estimated six million shoppers are set to be men. It's the only day of the year when men outnumber women in shops in the high street in the UK.

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