The Latest: French lawmakers to vote on new virus measures

The Latest: French lawmakers to vote on new virus measures

France’s prime minister has defended the government’s plans to close schools for at least three weeks and to ban domestic travel for a month to slow a resurgence of the coronavirus

By The Associated Press

April 1, 2021, 10:15 AM

• 9 min read

A man poses behind a cutout after receiving a COVID- 19 vaccine at a government hospital in Noida, a suburb of New Delhi, India, Thursday, April 1, 2021. India is accelerating its vaccination drive by opening it up for everyone above 45 years just as cases spike sharply after several months. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

PARIS — France's prime minister defended the government's plans to close schools for at least three weeks and to ban domestic travel for a month to slow a resurgence of the coronavirus.

Prime Minister Jean Castex led a parliamentary debate on the new nationwide measures as the National Assembly, France’s lower house, prepared to vote on them Thursday.

Castex told lawmakers that the government has acted “consistently and pragmatically.”

Opposition parties were expected to boycott the vote. Jean-Luc Mélenchon of the leftist La France Insoumise party denounced it as a “bad April Fools'” prank.

While French schools are temporarily closed, Castex confirmed aid for families with children who rely on free school meals.

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THE VIRUS OUTBREAK:

— Medics despair as France’s ‘third way’ virus strategy flails

— India fights virus surge, steps up jabs amid export row

— Company at heart of J&J vaccine woes has series of citations

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Follow AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic, https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak

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BERLIN — Germany’s health minister says the country will begin administering coronavirus vaccinations in doctors' offices starting next week.

Health Minister Jens Spahn told reporters in Berlin on Thursday that some 940,000 doses of vaccine will be delivered to some 35,000 practices next week.

The number of weekly doses supplied to doctors will rise to about 3 million at the end of April, he said.

Germany is hoping to significantly ramp up its vaccine campaign in the coming week.

According to government figures, 11.6% of the population has received at least one dose of vaccine, while 5% of the population has received both doses.

Earlier this week, German health officials decided to halt the routine use of AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine in people under 60 due to concerns over the possibility of a small risk of rare blood clots in younger patients.

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HONG KONG — Hong Kong will resume administering the coronavirus vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech on Monday following a 12-day suspension over packaging defects detected in one batch, officials said.

An additional 300,000 doses of the vaccine are expected to arrive on Friday, Civil Service Secretary Patrick Nip said Thursday.

Health officials said an investigation by BioNTech found no safety issues in the batch with packaging defects for some vials, as well as in a separate, unused batch of the vaccine.

“BioNTech believes that the efficacy of the vaccine has not been affected, so members of the public who have taken the BioNTech vaccine need not be worried,” said Constance Chan, Hong Kong’s director of health.

Random checks will also be stepped up to ensure that vaccine packaging is safe, she said.

The packaging defects included loose caps and leakage from some bottles. Prior to the suspension, about 151,000 people had received the Pfizer vaccine in the city.

Apart from the Pfizer vaccine, Hong Kong residents have the option to receive Chinese-made Sinovac shots, although acceptance of that vaccine has fallen after reports that several people with chronic illnesses died after getting it.

Hong Kong officials say the deaths were not directly linked to the vaccine.

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