France Coronavirus Variant

France will begin a gradual lifting of Covid restrictions from February 2 amid "encouraging signs" that the wave of infections due to the Omicron variant is ebbing, Prime Minister Jean Castex said Thursday.

The World Health Organization said a coronavirus variant found in France hasn't become much of a threat since it was first identified in November.

Called the IHU variant, or B.1.640.2, it was first detected in southern France last month but has now begun catching the attention of global experts.

Omicron has become the main coronavirus strain in France where the number of infections has seen a big increase in the last few days, the country's public health agency has said.

Covid infections in France hit six figures Saturday, health officials recording 104,611 cases over the previous 24 hours, the third consecutive day the numbers have been record highs.

The number of daily Covid-19 cases in France is set to exceed 100,000 by the end of December due to the faster-spreading Omicron variant, Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Wednesday.

France is to tighten restrictions on travel from Britain to slow the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 that is causing record numbers of cases on the other side of the Channel, the government said Thursday.

France's Health Ministry said on Sunday it had detected eight possible cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant across the country after the government announced it would tighten restrictions to contain its spread.

Vaccination is highly effective at preventing severe cases of Covid-19, even against the Delta variant, a vast study in France has shown.

France could see a new spike in Covid cases by the end of July due to the spread of the more contagious Delta variant of the virus, the government spokesman said Monday.

A cluster of Delta-variant COVID-19 infections has been detected at an art school in the eastern French city of Strasbourg, the regional health authority said on Saturday.

The Pfizer vaccine is slightly less effective but appears to still protect against the more transmissible Covid variant found in India, according to a study by France's Pasteur Institute.

France on Wednesday declared a mandatory quarantine period for people coming from Britain, due to the increasing prevalence there of a highly contagious coronavirus variant first detected in India.

A case of the Indian variant of the coronavirus has now been detected in mainland France, a regional health agency director said Thursday.

French President Emmanuel Macron warned Thursday about the lack of information about China's coronavirus vaccines, saying they might even encourage the development of variants if they are not effective.

France will begin a gradual lifting of Covid restrictions from February 2 amid "encouraging signs" that the wave of infections due to the Omicron variant is ebbing, Prime Minister Jean Castex said Thursday.

The World Health Organization said a coronavirus variant found in France hasn't become much of a threat since it was first identified in November.

Called the IHU variant, or B.1.640.2, it was first detected in southern France last month but has now begun catching the attention of global experts.

Omicron has become the main coronavirus strain in France where the number of infections has seen a big increase in the last few days, the country's public health agency has said.

Covid infections in France hit six figures Saturday, health officials recording 104,611 cases over the previous 24 hours, the third consecutive day the numbers have been record highs.

The number of daily Covid-19 cases in France is set to exceed 100,000 by the end of December due to the faster-spreading Omicron variant, Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Wednesday.

France is to tighten restrictions on travel from Britain to slow the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 that is causing record numbers of cases on the other side of the Channel, the government said Thursday.

France's Health Ministry said on Sunday it had detected eight possible cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant across the country after the government announced it would tighten restrictions to contain its spread.

Vaccination is highly effective at preventing severe cases of Covid-19, even against the Delta variant, a vast study in France has shown.

France could see a new spike in Covid cases by the end of July due to the spread of the more contagious Delta variant of the virus, the government spokesman said Monday.

A cluster of Delta-variant COVID-19 infections has been detected at an art school in the eastern French city of Strasbourg, the regional health authority said on Saturday.

The Pfizer vaccine is slightly less effective but appears to still protect against the more transmissible Covid variant found in India, according to a study by France's Pasteur Institute.

France on Wednesday declared a mandatory quarantine period for people coming from Britain, due to the increasing prevalence there of a highly contagious coronavirus variant first detected in India.

A case of the Indian variant of the coronavirus has now been detected in mainland France, a regional health agency director said Thursday.

French President Emmanuel Macron warned Thursday about the lack of information about China's coronavirus vaccines, saying they might even encourage the development of variants if they are not effective.