Stop talking on all public transport, French advised

PARIS: French doctors have new advice to slow the spread of the virus: stop talking on public transport.

The French Academy of Doctors issued guidance saying people should “avoid talking or making phone calls” in subways, buses or anywhere in public where social distancing isn’t possible. Masks have been required since May, but travellers oten loosen or remove them to talk on the phone.

Other French experts are urging more dramatic measures — notably a third lockdown.

France’s hospitals now hold more COVID-19 patients than in October, when President Emmanuel Macron imposed a second lockdown. Virus patients occupy more than half of the country’s intensive care beds.

Infections in France are gradually rising this month, at more than 20,000 per day. France currently has the longest virus curfew in Europe, from 6pm to 6am, and restaurants and tourist sites have been closed since October.

The government has so far sought to avoid a full new lockdown. Protests are expected around France on Saturday against virus-related layoffs and to support those arrested for holding a techno rave party despite virus restrictions. France has seen 72,647 virus-related deaths. Separately, Health Minister Jens Spahn told Bild am Sonntag newspaper that

Germany expects British drugmaker Astrazeneca Plc to deliver 3 million doses of its COVID-19 vaccine in February despite the company’s latest production problems.

Astrazeneca informed European Union officials on Friday it would cut deliveries of its COVID-19 vaccine to the bloc by 60% to 31 million doses in the first quarter of the year due to production problems, a senior official said.

The decrease deals another blow to Europe’s COVID-19 vaccination drive ater Pfizer Inc and German partner Biontech slowed supplies of their vaccine to the bloc this week, saying the move was needed because of work to ramp up production.

“The good news is that if the Astrazeneca vaccine is approved at the end of January, we expect at least 3 million vaccine doses for Germany in February,” Spahn told Bild am Sonntag in an interview.