Omicron surge: France declares new restrictive measures to control spread

Concerns over the rapid spread of the highly transmissible Omicron variant have prompted France to propose new COVID-19 measures in an attempt to stem the tide of infections.

Working from home for at least three days a week will be mandatory for those who can do so starting January 3, while public gatherings would be limited to 2,000 people indoors and 5,000 people outside, according to French Prime Minister Jean Castex.

Food and beverage consumption will be prohibited on public transportation, including long-distance routes, and at theatres, cinemas, theatres, and athletic facilities. All food and drink must be consumed seated, not standing, in pubs and restaurants.

The new rules will be in effect for at least three weeks, although no curfew will be in effect on New Year's Eve, and schools will return as scheduled in early January, according to Castex.

For the first time since the pandemic began, France registered more than 100,000 COVID-19 infections in a single day on Saturday.

According to the regional health office in Paris, more than one in every 100 people tested positive in the past week. The majority of new illnesses have been related to Omicron, which is expected to become the prevalent strain in France in the next days, according to government scientists.

Castex emphasised that intensive care units in hospitals were not currently overburdened because more than 90% of adults in France had been fully immunized, but he advised that the nation was now in a "race against the clock" to speed up booster inoculations, which were seen as crucial to control the spread of the new variant.

"I know it feels like a never-ending movie," he said after a cabinet meeting, "but we started our vaccination programme a year ago and now we are one of the best vaccinated and best-protected people in the world."