Last Week
Normal news for the week - it's definitely Summer! Here was our forecast (and this next week looks similar)! We made it to the beach (and even found parking on a Saturday!).
However, daily life in France took a huge swing, thanks to the combination of the Delta variant of COVID-19, and the beginning of Summer vacations.
Here in Sète, our hospital finally came down to zero covid patients! But that didn't last - there were suddenly 3 new ones, with 2 in ICU. To note, none of the 3 were vaccinated. This is in line with reports that across France, 96% of all new cases are people who have not been vaccinated.
The Delta variant is sweeping through France. The good news is that full vaccinations are very effective against it - here's a table from a MedCram YouTube.
Still, the variant is much more contagious, and the vaccination rate had started to decline in France.
The "Health Pass" law, proposed 6 days ago, passed today. The Health Pass shows that someone is either fully vaccinated, or has a recent negative COVID-19 test. It is now, or soon will be, required in order to do an awful lot of things - enter large commercial centers, theaters, festivals, restaurants, trains, planes (but not automobiles). The new law also requires all health workers to be vaccinated, or face suspension. The day after the proposed law was laid out, Doctolib, the website for making vaccine appointments, crashed - there were nearly a million requests for appointments...
Here in Sète, the first big festival of the Summer was first postponed, then reduced to the essentials on one Sunday. The final, huge festival of the Summer was completely cancelled (for the 2nd year in a row, thanks again to covid). No Saint-Pierre, no Saint-Louis.
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MedCram: https://youtu.be/hXV7i1yxu6c
Health Pass news:
https://apnews.com/article/europe-business-health-government-and-politics-france-ecc7d4345abf159920bbe36a3b2fefb7
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