At a time when anger is brewing in Europe against measures flirting with the vaccination obligation, several states are considering or have already started lifting health restrictions. After the peak of a fifth wave driven by the Omicron variant, which generated unprecedented figures of Covid-19 contaminations, governments want to loosen the reins.
It must be said that the worst seems behind us. In Europe but also worldwide: this week, all regions saw their situation improve: -41% in the United States/Canada zone, -30% in Africa, -26% in the Americas zone Latin America/Caribbean, -13% in Asia, -9% in Europe and -2% in the Middle East.
- In France, the vaccination pass is getting tougher, certain restrictions are being eased
France is thus one of the European countries which are planning this week to ease the measures. Thus, from Wednesday, consumption standing in bars will be able to resume, consumption in public transport, stadiums and cinemas too. Nightclubs will also be able to reopen. The economic support systems, and in particular for hotels-cafés-restaurants, but also for events, sport and culture are maintained during this phase, assured Jean Castex.
Another expected relaxation: the end of the wearing of the compulsory mask in establishments subject to the vaccination pass from February 28. On the other hand, it “will be kept in transport and closed places not subject to the vaccination pass”, detailed the Ministry of Health in a press release. Wearing a mask was no longer compulsory outdoors since February 2.
In addition, a reduction in the health protocol in schools is planned for the start of the school year for the February holidays, with the transition from level 3 to level 2. This will mean the end of wearing a mask in the playground in elementary schools and a relaxation of the rules for mixing students, who can now be more widely mixed with children of their level and no longer only of their class.
The rules will also be relaxed for the tests: from February 28, contact case students will no longer have to do three but only one after two days (D2). A relaxation which will also concern all contact cases in the population, indicated the Ministry of Health. The sworn statements of tests that families submit to the school will also be deleted from February 21.
On the other hand, as of Tuesday, the conditions for obtaining the vaccination pass are tightening. The booster dose of vaccines against Covid-19 must therefore be carried out no later than four months after the end of the initial vaccination schedule, except for those who have contracted the disease since then. The maximum period for recall was up to now seven months. However, the device should not be in force for very long because the government plans to lift the vaccine pass “by the end of March” or the beginning of “April”, Alain Fischer, the government’s “Mister vaccine”, estimated on Wednesday. Provided that the incidence rate turns out to be “10 or 20 times lower” than currently, that the hospital overload is coming to an end and that a very high proportion of French people are vaccinated, according to him.
- Germany plans to remove most restrictions in March
Next month should also be synonymous with reductions in measures in Germany. Berlin plans to phase out most restrictions from March 20, according to a government plan unveiled on Monday. “By early spring, March 20, 2022, restrictions on social, cultural and economic life should be gradually lifted,” said the eight-page document obtained by AFP which will serve as the basis for discussions during a meeting on Wednesday between the government and the German regions. On this date, the country could thus abolish or limit the vaccination obligations which condition access to the main places of social or cultural life.
The rules encouraging companies to allow their employees to telework as much as possible should also disappear. However, the document specifies that employers will be able, under conditions, to continue to offer work from home in agreement with employees. The wearing of surgical or FFP2 type masks should however remain compulsory, especially in transport or enclosed spaces.
Initially, without yet specifying a precise date, the ceiling concerning the number of people authorized during private gatherings, for the moment limited to ten people vaccinated or cured, may soon be increased to twenty. In addition, access controls in retail businesses are soon to be abolished throughout Germany.
In a second step, from March 4, restrictions in restaurants and hotels should disappear and clubs and discos should be able to reopen for people who have been vaccinated, cured or tested. The gauges in sports enclosures should also be removed but major events accessible only on presentation of the vaccination pass.
- England hope to end isolation of positive cases by end of February
England is riding the same trend. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he hopes to be able to lift the requirement to self-isolate for people who test positive for coronavirus before the end of February, when England has already dropped most anti-Covid restrictions.
The United Kingdom, whose government has been calling for several weeks to live with Covid as it does with the flu, was among the first in Europe to try to return to pre-pandemic life, relying on high vaccination coverage, such as Denmark or Sweden.
In front of the deputies, the Conservative leader announced that he wanted to return to Parliament on February 21, after the parliamentary holidays, “in order to present our strategy for living with the Covid”. “Provided that the current encouraging trends continue, I expect that we will be able to lift the remaining national restrictions, including the legal obligation to self-isolate in the event of a positive test, with a month in advance,” he said. he added.
On January 19, Boris Johnson had committed England to the lifting of most restrictions, toughened in the face of the Omicron wave, such as teleworking or the wearing of compulsory masks. He added that he did not intend to renew the law making it mandatory to isolate themselves for people who tested positive, which expires on March 24. In January, the mandatory quarantine had already been reduced from a minimum of seven days to five days, subject to a negative test. If fully vaccinated, contact cases should not isolate themselves.
According to Boris Johnson’s spokesman, the possible lifting of compulsory isolation is justified by “the fall in the number of cases and hospitalizations”. He specified, however, that the legislation imposing it could be restored “in extremis” to deal with a new variant.
- Belgium reopens at night, but maintains the sanitary pass
Belgium has decided to reopen its nightclubs and night bars at the end of the week with the hope of lifting the last restrictions in March, in particular the presentation of the health pass, Prime Minister Alexander De Croo announced on Friday. .
From next Friday, teleworking is no longer compulsory but remains recommended, bars and restaurants will no longer have to close at midnight, children under 12 will no longer be forced to wear masks at school, said the head of the Belgian government.
But the “Covid Safe Ticket” (CST, digital certificate that indicates vaccination, testing and recovery after contracting Covid) will still be required for access to restaurants, bars, shows and events, and the wearing of mask will remain compulsory for staff, warned the Minister of Health, Frank Vandenbroucke. “We will see in March” if these measures can then be abandoned, he said.
- Italy drops the mask outside and starts dancing again
With regard to Italy, the country took another step on Friday towards a gradual return to normal in the fight against Covid with the end of the obligation to wear a mask outside and the reopening of nightclubs.
From now on, throughout the national territory, the mask is no longer essential in the open air, but you must always have one at hand to be able to wear it in the event of a crowd, even outside, specified the ministry. of Health. Wearing a mask in closed places remains compulsory for the moment, at least until March 31.
Nightclubs can also reopen from this Friday, with certain limits however: to access them, you must indeed be in possession of a vaccination pass, which means that a negative test is not enough, and the ability to hospitality are limited to 75% for open-air nightclubs and 50% for indoor ones.
- The mask is no longer compulsory outside in Spain
Restored at the end of December to counter the explosion of contagions due to the Omicron variant, wearing a mask outside is no longer compulsory since last Thursday in Spain. Spain had been one of the few countries in Europe to reinstate the obligation to wear a mask outdoors in December, before the holiday season, in an attempt to curb a sixth wave of Covid-19 caused by the highly contagious Omicron variant.
According to the decree of the Spanish government, it will however remain compulsory during gatherings of crowds in the open air, such as during concerts.
This measure was taken for the first time in the country in May 2020, at the height of the first wave, and followed by the Spaniards without reluctance. It had been lifted on June 26, 2021, provided that there was a distance of 1.5 m between two people.
While the epidemiological situation has improved significantly in the country, Catalonia, a region in the north-east of the country, reopened its nightclubs overnight from Thursday to Friday after several weeks of closure. This is one of the last restrictions still in force in this tourist region which lifted in January the night curfew reinstated at the end of December.
- Norway removes its last anti-Covid restrictions
As for Norway, the Nordic country lifted its latest anti-Covid restrictions on Saturday by removing social distancing instructions and the wearing of masks in crowded spaces, despite a spike in infections with the Omicron variant.
“The distancing meter is disappearing. We are removing the recommendation on social distancing, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said at a press conference. We can now have social interactions as before, taking part in night outings, cultural and other events. And also when going to work on buses, trains and ferries”.
Norway had already removed most other Covid-related restrictions earlier this month, such as teleworking or limiting the size of gatherings. The obligation to isolate for four days after a positive Covid test was downgraded on Saturday to a simple recommendation, while children with respiratory symptoms are no longer obliged to be tested.
The head of government, however, stressed that “the pandemic is not over”, and advised those who have not been vaccinated and those at risk to continue to observe social distancing and to wear masks when distancing is not possible. .