France will pay intensive care nurses an extra 100 euros per month from January as it seeks to improve work conditions for staff exhausted by the fight against Covid-19, prime minister Jean Castex said on Tuesday.
"This is about improving attractiveness, training, qualification, working conditions in intensive care units, acknowledging the skills of those who work there," Castex said during a visit to an intensive care unit in Creteil, near Paris.
The bonus comes ahead of a broader set of measures that will be unveiled next week by health minister Olivier Veran to stem shortages of staff on the frontline of the Covid-19 fight.
The rapid spread of the Omicron variant has seen a record number of cases surge in France, putting extra pressure on intensive care units in public hospitals.
On Monday the government announced it would further tighten Covid measures, but there will be no curfew for New Year's Eve and schools will reopen as planned in early January.
Castex said the Covid incidence rate – the number of infections per 100,000 people per week – is well over 700 and at a record level since the start of the pandemic, forcing his cabinet to take new measures.
From Monday and for the next three weeks, all public gatherings will be limited to 2,000 people for indoor events, and to 5,000 people for outdoor events, and all spectators will have to be seated at concerts.
Consumption of food and drink will be banned in public passenger transport – including long-distance transport – as well as in movie theatres, while in bars and restaurants all food and drink will have to be consumed seated, not standing. Masks are already required for passengers on public transport.
Home working
Castex also said that home working will become mandatory for at least three days per week where possible, and that mask wearing will become mandatory again outdoors in city centres, under the authority of local prefectures.
"I know that it feels like a film without ending, but a year ago we started our vaccination campaign and now we are one of the best vaccinated and best protected people in the world," Castex told a news conference following a cabinet meeting.
In order to further boost vaccinations, the government's planned vaccine pass – which will require proof of vaccination, not just a negative test, to enter public places – will take effect from January 15th, if parliament approves a draft government bill, Castex said.
The government is also narrowing the period until people are eligible for a booster shot to three months from four following their second jab.
On Saturday, France registered a new record of more than 100,000 new infections per day as people rushed to get tested before Christmas family gatherings. On Monday, the seven-day moving average of new infections stood at more than 72,000.
