France to announce booster shots for all adults and stricter face mask rules amid Covid surge

HAS mentioned a renewed spread of the coronavirus that was "stronger than anticipated"

France is set to announce that Covid-19 booster shots will be made available to all adults, along with stricter rules on wearing face masks and health pass checks to curb a new wave of infections, two parliamentary sources confirmed to Reuters on Thursday, Qazet.az reports.

France's Haute Autorité de Santé (HAS) health regulator said it was backing booster Covid-19 vaccination shots for those aged 18 and over, and that the interim period between full vaccination and the booster shots should be shortened to five months instead of six.

HAS mentioned a renewed spread of the coronavirus that was "stronger than anticipated", and that the 'R' reproduction rate of 1.35 indicated "exponential growth" of infections.

On Wednesday, health authorities reported over 30,000 new infections for a second day in a row, a sequence unseen since end-April.

The seven-day moving average of daily new cases – which evens out reporting irregularities – stands at a three-month high of 21,761 and has almost quadrupled in a month.

The number of people treated in intensive care for Covid-19 is nearly 1,500, a figure last seen at the end of September.