Prime Minister Jean Castex Covid-19 strategy left restrictions in place until 15 December. But as new infection figures remain far from the target of 5,000 per day, some health measures may be extended through Christmas.
The government has reiterated the importance of testing and self-isolation to keep the numbers down and reduce the strain on the country's hospitals.
A working document, seen by French press outlets, is under examination by Castex and his ministers on how to better manage the isolation of Covid-19 patients – including potential fines for people who flout their quarantine.
Part of the plan involves setting up teams of mobile health workers such as nurses and social workers to visit patients at their residence, to offer advice and test other members of the family if necessary.
Home help
This service would also provide follow up by phone and logistical support such as help with grocery shopping, child minding, or in some cases, appropriate accommodation.
The government says its objective is to focus on accompaniment and education. Patients would be asked to sign a sworn statement, promising to adhere to the quarantine period in the name of public health.
Inspired by the system in place known as Covisan, run by the public hospital network AP-HP since April, the new plan would come into action as soon as a person tests positive for Covid-19.
#Covid19 | Tests, conseils personnalisés : face au risque de troisième vague, la solution des «brigades» #Covisan, mises en place par l'AP-HP, qui parcourent l'Ile-de-France https://t.co/9SVJfsl9zt
— AP-HP (@APHP) December 7, 2020
From that point, health professionals would take charge of contact tracing and informing primary contacts of the procedure to follow.
The new plan also envisages the recruitment of “TAP” (test, alert, protect) mediators present on site during major public testing campaigns to hand out relevant information and direct people to the right services.
An estimated 5,000 people are expected to be employed by the beginning of February, according to the government document.
They will be recruited from health professionals, medical students, first aid personnel, unemployed people and young people doing civil service.
Rate of infections still high
The government intends to measure the extent of its recruitment needs during the next major testing campaigns to take place in Saint-Etienne, Le Havre and Lille.
The rate of coronavirus infections in France is sitting at an average of around 10,000 per day – far from Macron’s hoped-for target of 5,000.
That figure is key to lifting more restrictions on 15 December ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays.
"Despite all our efforts, we are still faced with a high risk of a rebound in the epidemic," senior health official Jerome Salomon told a press conference, noting that the number of new infections had not fallen for several days.
Meanwhile, the government is pushing ahead with its plan to roll out a vaccination campaign from the beginning of January, starting with elderly people in care homes and health care workers.
