France cancels New Year’s celebrations already now – NRK Urix – Foreign News & Documentaries

Friday evening, Prime Minister Jean Castilles became the country’s leading party brake. He then announced that all major public concerts would be banned on the 31st of December.

It also includes setting off fireworks that lead to gatherings, Reuters news agency reported.

This means that large parts of the New Year’s celebration have been canceled – for the second year in a row.

Last year, there was also a curfew from 20:00 to 06:00 in large parts of France.

Special New Year’s parties will be allowed this year, but the prime minister recommends limiting the number of people who gather and that everyone get a quick test before joining the party.

The goal, again, is to slow the infection of corona. Now the omikron variable should be turned off. But even with the strict measures, the French authorities expect Omicron to take over the role of the main variable of the virus within two weeks.

enlist the army

Prime Minister Jean Castix also said that the French army would be deployed to speed up the vaccination of the third dose of the vaccine.

The plan is for the third dose to be offered for all immunizations starting in January. The time between the second and third dose has now been reduced from five to four months.

The authorities hope that this will reduce the number of coronary heart patients who develop serious illnesses and need to be treated in hospital.

France announced, yesterday, that it will impose a general ban on entry for anyone coming from the United Kingdom due to the rapid increase in the infection of the omicron variant there. Everyone living in the British Isles must have ‘compelling reasons’ to enter the country.

The ban on entry is in effect at midnight from night to Saturday. This resulted in long queues on the British side of the Channel, which the British attempted to bypass before 00.01.

This applies to both the Channel Tunnel and the ferry docks. In Dover, the queue for border control is between two and three hours.

Train company Eurostar has asked all travelers to stay home, as long as they haven’t already booked a ticket.

French ski resorts, on the other hand, are in desperation. Some places, such as Val d’Isère, have an occupancy rate of up to 40 per cent of Brits over the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Germany bans fireworks

In Germany, too, there will be a celebration of the New Year without fireworks.

According to the authorities, epidemics and fireworks do not belong to each other. For the second year in a row, the sale of fireworks is prohibited until New Year’s Eve.

The country is in the middle of the fourth wave of infections, and the country’s new health minister has announced that the fifth wave is on its way, and it is likely to be much stronger than the previous four waves.

France, Denmark, Norway, Andorra and Lebanon are now defined as high-risk areas and unvaccinated people coming from these countries must be quarantined for at least five days upon entry.

Corona passport must be presented in Switzerland

In Switzerland, the authorities are extending a number of infection control measures, which will last until the end of January.

The number that can be collected in private gatherings is limited to 10 if with one or more unvaccinated persons over 16 years of age.

Everyone must also present a Corona passport to enter restaurants, bars, discos and other indoor venues, many of which are likely to be located.

A vaccine or negative coronavirus test is not required to use cable cars or ski lifts at many ski resorts, as the season really begins now over the Christmas holidays. On the other hand, there are strict requirements for the use of face masks.

Switzerland does not follow France by preventing the British from entering the country.

Ireland closes pubs early

The Irish also need to prepare for a less festive Christmas. From Sunday 19 September and six weeks onwards, restaurants and bars must close at 8 p.m. There will also be an effort to slow the spread of the Omicron virus.

The capacity for indoor and outdoor events should be halved.

– I understand that this is very disappointing for many, said Prime Minister Michel Martin when he presented the list of measures on Friday evening.

But we need a fast and powerful reduction in people-to-people contact. Across Europe, the same is now much needed, Martin said.

Ireland has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world. But even there, the omicron variant spreads at full speed.

The Prime Minister said, “We will probably see a level of spread that we have not seen before during the epidemic.”

Resubmit the corona test requirement upon entry. The type of test an individual should have, the rapid test or PCR test, depends on the status of the vaccine.

Follow the latest Corona news in the NRK News Center: