{"id":1594,"date":"2020-10-30T19:30:42","date_gmt":"2020-10-30T19:30:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewitnessexet.wpengine.com\/?p=1594"},"modified":"2020-11-09T08:56:31","modified_gmt":"2020-11-09T08:56:31","slug":"covid-response-report-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewitnessexeter.co.uk\/?p=1594","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 Response Report – France"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \t<\/i> Read Time:<\/span>8 Minute, 17 Second <\/div>\n\n <\/div>\n

Yesterday France\nentered its second national lockdown, with this expected to be in place until\nthe end of November<\/a>. These new measures come as official\nCOVID-19 cases in France surpass 1.3\nmillion<\/a>, with\nglobal coronavirus cases exceeding a staggering 45 million (as of 30th<\/sup>\nOctober 2020). President Macron\u2019s decision to impose such stringent restrictions\nundeniably signals that a treacherous and unprecedented winter lies ahead for France,\nand for Europe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But how\ndid France get to this point?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lockdown measures were implemented on 17th<\/sup> March and were originally meant to be in place for just 15 days but were extended until 11th<\/sup> May. These mandatory measures were a full-scale national lockdown which included<\/a> only leaving homes for essential reasons \u2013 these could be for food shopping, medical appointments, essential work or an hour of daily exercise. Additionally, people were required to have a signed and dated form justifying their reasons for leaving their home each time or they risked facing a fine of \u20ac135. Some local authorities also put in place their own restrictions, such as curfews or banning access to beaches. Essentially, the message from government was to stay at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Official daily case levels during the national lockdown were significantly lower than the 47,637 reported<\/a> in the past day, however this is to be taken with a pinch of salt I should add. As with the UK, testing was not widely accessible during the first lockdown, and with the \u2018stay at home\u2019 order in place, people were not being regularly tested and thus the figures are not accepted to be truly representative. But Figure 1 (below) depicts exactly what was feared: a spike in cases during the winter months. As you can see, there was a spike in reported cases between March and May, and a consistent decline and plateau until August, where daily confirmed cases began to exceed 1500. This is likely due to the easing of lockdown measures in May and June, in addition to increased testing capacity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of 30th<\/sup>\nOctober, there has been a reported<\/a> 36,020 coronavirus related deaths\nin France, with 235 in the last day alone. Over 115,000 cases of coronavirus\nhave resulted in recovery and discharge from hospital, and at present, there\nare over 3000 serious or critical cases of coronavirus. According<\/a> to The Financial Times<\/em>,\nFrance is facing the possibility of up to 100,000 cases a day as the prospect\nof a vaccine moves further away, and as the country delves into winter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chart,<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Figure 1<\/em><\/a>: New reported cases by day in\nFrance, NYT<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nFinancial Times<\/em>\nalso reported<\/a> in April this year that France\u2019s\n\u2018weakness\u2019 in testing for the virus led to a major challenge in lifting\nlockdown. It discussed how Macron urgently wanted to ease restrictions in May,\nbut that scientists wanted capacity for testing to be trebled first. In April,\nthe capacity for testing was at 150,000 per week, but for lockdown restrictions\nto be lifted, Jean-Fran\u00e7ois Delfraissy – chair of the scientific committee\nadvising the government \u2013 described how the country must be at 500,000 tests\nper week in order to ease restrictions. By the first week of August, 500,000\ntests per week were being carried out, with a claimed million by the end of the\nmonth, according<\/a> to Kim Nguyen, a biologist working\nin a laboratory outside of Paris. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Chart,<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Figure 2<\/em><\/a>: Outbreak evolution for the\ncurrent 10 most affected countries, Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

France has\nfailed significantly in contact tracing, where The Connexion<\/em> reports<\/a> that only 2.6 million have\ndownloaded the first version of their track and trace app, \u2018StopCovid\u2019, a clear\nfailure in comparison to other EU states such as the UK and Germany, where such\ntrack and trace apps have been downloaded<\/a> 16 million and 18 million times,\nrespectively. When their app \u2018StopCovid\u2019 was released in late June, it did not\nrequest personal data such as a name and address, meaning that the government\nhad little information about users<\/a> of the app. This is due to the\nneed for a balance to be struck<\/a> between protecting public health\nand guarding the data privacy of its citizens. It also failed to win over the\npublic due to a lack of confidence in its reliability and accuracy. A new,\nupdated version of the app was scheduled for release on 22nd<\/sup> October\nand is expected<\/a> to be more \u201cdynamic and\ninteractive\u201d than the previous version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hospital admissions in France are increasing too, with the capital being hit the hardest. The concern here is whether its healthcare system will once more be overrun with patients, which will cause further ramifications for those who have surgeries or vital treatments scheduled. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The overall response from France has been a mixed one in terms of successes and failures. The failure to produce an effective track and trace app has led to a lack of public confidence and will likely see low numbers of interaction with this updated version. The lockdown measures in March were strict, but as with the UK, critics argue they were implemented at least a week too late. With a minimum of 36,000 coronavirus related deaths, and more than 1.3 million cases, it\u2019s not hard to see the failings. But it must be acknowledged that this is an unprecedented pandemic. We must realise that many European countries are struggling to contain the spread and infection rate of the virus and will do for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where\nare they now?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of\nFriday, people are only allowed to leave their homes for essential work or\nmedical reasons. Bars, restaurants and cafes are closed but visits to care\nhomes are permitted \u2013 so long as social distancing measures are observed.\nMeetings between households are banned, and weddings are no longer allowed to\ntake place. However, exercise for an hour a day and walks \u2018near your house\u2019<\/a> will be allowed. As was mandatory in March, people\nare required to fill out forms justifying their reasons for leaving their home\nor face fines<\/a> of \u20ac135, and social gatherings are\nbanned. Schools will remain open this time, however children aged six or over will\nbe required to wear a mask, as Macron seeks to limit any further negative impact\non the education of France\u2019s youth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Macron announced these new measures in a televised address, delivered on Wednesday. Faced with mounting criticism that his government\u2019s response to the pandemic has not quelled the spread of the virus, this second national lockdown depicts a clear message \u2013 tough times are ahead. He declared<\/a> that France has been \u201coverpowered\u201d by this second wave, which he admitted<\/a> will be \u201cmore deadly than the first\u201d, with a current daily infection rate of between 40,000-50,000, at least. This serves as a stark warning to other European countries that swift and clear measures must be implemented if we are to avoid a second disaster of deaths in the coming months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since the\nannouncement, Paris saw record\nnumbers<\/a> of traffic as its citizens began to panic about the utter\nuncertainty that another national lockdown brings. As Macron calls<\/a> for a \u201ccollective effort\u201d to\ncombat the spread of the virus, the future months for France look bleak.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According\nto Johns Hopkins University<\/a>, France is the fifth worst country\nin terms of case numbers – behind the US, India, Brazil and Russia. The\nEuropean Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, warned<\/a>\nthat \u201cWe are deep in the second wave\u201d and we must come to terms with the\nreality that this year we will have \u201ca different Christmas\u201d. The World Health\nOrganisation\u2019s European regional director, Dr. Hans Kluge, described<\/a> Europe as the \u201cepicentre\u201d of the\npandemic once more and said, \u201cAt the risk of sounding alarmist, I must express\nour very real concern.\u201d It thus becomes impossible to see a way out of this\npandemic when no vaccine is readily available, and case numbers continue to\nincrease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Doctors have warned that this second wave is more deadly than the first, primarily due to how it is spreading. This time infections<\/a> are hitting parts of France at the same time, rather than region by region. If these infections continued at such a rate, Macron revealed<\/a> that all of the intensive care beds would be full of COVID-19 cases by mid-November. During the first wave, non-COVID patients were moved to neighbouring regions in March and April which were less overrun. However, the hospitals in France have barely recovered, and the prospect of exponentially increasing hospital admissions puts even more pressure on France\u2019s health system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u2018I\u2019<\/em>\nreports<\/a> that the rate of infection stands\nat 414.4 per 100,000 cases in the seven days leading up to 29th<\/sup>\nOctober, which when compared to the UK rate during the same period of 229.6 per\n100,000, indicates just how deep into this second wave France truly is \u2013 and\nperhaps how the UK is not far behind. The UK now advises<\/a>\nagainst all but essential travel to France, as the French PM also increased the\nnational security level to \u2018urgent\u2019 following a terrorist incident on Thursday in\nNice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What the\nfuture holds for France depends on how this second lockdown and possible future\nones play out. It remains to be seen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, it is beginning to feel as though we will be forever stuck in a limbo of imposed restrictions which are lifted, and then imposed again once cases inevitably rise. Whilst it is easy to suggest we must \u2018get on\u2019 with our lives, when hospitalisations, infection rates and death rates increase to such an extent, we must continue to proceed with both caution and rapid action. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for whether COVID-19 will affect the future of President Macron and his government\u2019s grip on power, the infamous response Harold Macmillan reportedly gave when asked what he feared the most as Prime Minister springs to mind:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEvents,\ndear boy, events\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Yesterday France entered its second national lockdown, with this expected to be in place until the end of November. These new measures come <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":1597,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1594","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-covid19"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewitnessexeter.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1594","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewitnessexeter.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewitnessexeter.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewitnessexeter.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewitnessexeter.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1594"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thewitnessexeter.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1594\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewitnessexeter.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1597"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thewitnessexeter.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1594"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewitnessexeter.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1594"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thewitnessexeter.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1594"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}