(Bloomberg) — France will make remote work from home mandatory three days a week to contain the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant.
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Prime Minister Jan Castex said on Monday that workers who have the option not to come to the office will have to do so for a minimum of three days and, if possible, four days to help reduce social contacts.
The measures, which will come into effect from January 3 for a period of three weeks, were announced after a special cabinet meeting called by President Emmanuel Macron amid a sharp rise in coronavirus cases in the country.
“In France and Europe, the health situation, as you know, is very tense,” Castix told reporters. The government has not announced a New Year’s Eve curfew.
France on Saturday reported a daily record of more than 100,000 new cases, spurred by the rapid spread of the omicron variant, replicating the high infection rates in the UK and Italy. Macron, who is expected to run for a second term in April’s presidential election, has vowed to contain the virus while protecting the economy from another full shutdown.
More than 16,000 people are currently hospitalized for coronavirus in France, including about 3,300 in intensive care, above the 3,000-person crisis threshold set by health authorities.
original note:
France sends workers home to Rennes in rapid omicron spread
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