Live updates: follow the latest news on Covid-19 variant Omicron
The French government will order companies to impose at least three days a week in which employees must work from home where possible to stem a fifth wave of Covid infections, Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Monday.
The measure, which will be in place for at least three weeks, is one of several announced after a crisis Cabinet meeting on the new Omicron coronavirus variant, which is threatening to overwhelm hospitals.
France on Saturday reported more than 100,000 daily Covid cases, a record since the pandemic began nearly two years ago, with many experts warning the number would rapidly increase in coming weeks.
Mr Castex said the country's "health pass" for access to restaurants, cinemas and more will now only be available to fully vaccinated people. A recent negative Covid test result for those unvaccinated will no longer be valid.
He said table seating only would be allowed in cafes and bars for three weeks, although he held off on a curfew for New Year's Eve festivities.
But face masks, already required in most indoor public spaces, could soon be required outdoors on city streets as well, he said.
Capacity limits will be reimposed for concerts, sports matches and other events at 2,000 people indoors, and 5,000 outside.
Mr Castex urged people to have booster shots, while praising the country's 78 per cent vaccination rate overall, a figure the government says represents 90 per cent of those eligible, or everyone older than 5.
But the government held off on postponing a return to class for pupils on January 3 after the holidays, a measure sought by about 50 doctors and health workers in an open letter published at the weekend.
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A locked gate blocks access to a bar area in Berlin. Germany's government has put a lid on New Year celebrations, with nightclubs slated to close from December 28 onwards. AFP -
A jogger runs past the Covid-19 Memorial Wall in London. EPA -
People receive the Moderna booster at a vaccination centre in Antwerp, Belgium. Many are flocking to receive their booster shots amid surging Omicron infections. AP -
People wearing face masks pose for a photo outside a coffee shop with Christmas-themed decorations in Athens, Greece. AP -
A woman tapes the word "Omicron" to a handmade effigy depicting the Omicron coronavirus variant in Managua. The effigies will be burnt at midnight on December 31 as a tradition of saying goodbye to the old year and welcoming the new. AFP -
Delivery workers of South Korea's leading logistics company CJ Logistics Corporation protest in the capital Seoul over working conditions. EPA -
Shoppers hunt for bargains in Tokyo as people prepare for the New Year celebrations. Authorities in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto have announced free PCR tests to reduce infection risk especially during the holidays in Japan. EPA -
Travellers at the international airport in Samut Prakan, Thailand. Authorities have suspended quarantine-free entry to the country for all passengers, to contain the spread of the Omicron variant. EPA -
People queue for Covid-19 status checks before entering the Egyptian Museum, in Turin, northern Italy. EPA -
A woman takes a Covid-19 test at a pop-up testing site as the Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread in Manhattan, New York. Reuters -
Workers check the body temperatures of pupils arriving for Year 12 examinations at a school in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. EPA -
Thousands of people on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on December 26. Brazil's beaches are crowded with the arrival of summer despite the worldwide spread of the Omicron Covid-19 variant. Authorities will hold a New Year's Eve party on the Copacabana shore. Getty Images -
People gather during a demonstration of the cultural sector against the closure of venues under new rules put into place against Covid-19, in Brussels, Belgium. EPA -
Shoppers during Boxing Day sales in Glasgow. New restrictions have been introduced in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales. Getty Images -
A woman takes a Covid-19 test in Times Square as the Omicron coronavirus variant continues to spread in New York City. Reuters -
Hospital workers gather for a selfie in the Covid-19 intensive care unit of the La Timone hospital in Marseille, southern France. One of the country’s largest hospitals, La Timone has weathered wave after wave of coronavirus. AP -
Cricket fans arrive on the first day of the third Ashes Test between Australia and England in Melbourne, Australia. EPA -
A screen at the San Francisco International Airport shows cancelled United Airlines flights to Chicago O'Hare and Cleveland on Christmas Eve. EPA -
Travellers wait for trains on the eve of Christmas, at Euston Station in London. EPA -
Pastries named "virus" and "vaccine" on display in the window of a cafe and pastry shop in Prague, Czech Republic. Countries in central Europe are preparing for what many fear will be a fifth wave of the coronavirus brought on by the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. Getty Images -
People wait to receive vaccine doses at a shopping centre in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. EPA -
People rush to receive Covid-19 testing kits from city workers in the Brooklyn area of New York. The city is handing out thousands of the kits, which include two tests per box, as part of efforts to reduce the surge of people in long lines at testing sites. AFP -
People queue on Christmas Day for booster shots in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. EPA -
Newly elected President Gabriel Boric receives the third booster shot of the Pfizer vaccine in Santiago, Chile. Getty Images
