Lunchtime News Monday 9th August 2021

News

France appeals for doctors and nurses for overseas territories - France's health minister has appealed for volunteer doctors and nurses on the mainland to travel to the overseas territories of Guadaloupe and Martinique as covid infections overwhelm hospitals on the two Caribbean islands.

Health Minister Olivier Véran said the first medical staff would fly out on Tuesday, as health authorities race to administer Covid 19 shots. According to the CovidTracker website only 21% of the population of both islands have received a first dose of a vaccine, far lower than the nationwide average: two thirds of all French people have received one dose and 55 percent are now fully vaccinated.

Health pass – Meanwhile the health pass is introduced in France today Monday 9th August, after being validated almost entirely by the Constitutional Council and despite the street protests, the pass will now be required for most public places and long-distance travel.  To be valid, the pass, already in force in several European countries, must demonstrate either a complete vaccination schedule or recovery from covid through a positive test certificate of at least 11 days and less than 6 months or finally, a negative test dating "less than 72 hours".

It may also be required by prefectural decision in shops over 20,000 m² but will not be required for a visit to a general practitioner or A&E departments.

Germany imposes quarantine for travellers from the South of France – Germany has imposed a quarantine for travellers coming from the South of France. The quarantine introduced on Sunday August 8th will concern non-immune travellers from the French regions of Occitanie, Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur and Corsica.

Travellers coming from these tourist regions in the south of France will have to observe a 10-day quarantine if they do not have a health pass proving that they have been vaccinated twice or are considered to be cured. The isolation period may however be reduced to five days upon presentation of a negative test.

In other news

Climate change - A U.N.-appointed panel of experts is releasing a key report today summarising the latest authoritative scientific information on climate change. The report will provide governments with up-to-date facts on the current impacts and future risks of global warming ahead of a UN climate summit in November in Glasgow.

Almost 200 countries have signed up to the landmark Paris climate agreement, which aims to keep global warming below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), ideally no more than 1.5 degrees C (2.7 F), by the end of the century compared to pre-industrial times.

Sea rescue interventions on the rise - Sea rescue services in the region have seen an increase in their interventions again this year, after 2020 when their operations jumped by 20%. Nearly 1,300 interventions have been carried out since the start of the summer.

In addition, the French Mediterranean coast has already claimed 12 people’s life’s this summer, including four swimmers and seven divers. Last summer, 23 people lost their lives in these supposedly peaceful waters.

 

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