Paris: There has been no spike in Covid cases in France as tourists surge in for the Paris Olympic Games, a minister said Thursday, adding that the government would remain “vigilant.”
“Covid is still with us at a low level” but “we’re not in a period with an explosion or strong return” of the virus, junior health minister Frederic Valletoux told broadcaster Franceinfo.
He added that authorities were not “for now” expecting to introduce mask requirements in venues.
“There’s no kind of very strong alert signal at this stage,” Valletoux said.
A few of the 10,500 athletes set to patricipate have tested positive for Covid since arriving.
“We knew there is no such thing as zero risk,” Valletoux said.
Among the worst hit are Australia’s female water polo team, with the delegation’s head Anna Meares confirming five cases, while several Belgian competitors have also tested positive according to Olympic Committee doctors.
Some delegations have toughened up precautions in response.
For instance, France’s rowing team insisted on masks at media events ahead of the competition.
France sees no Olympic spike in Covid cases: minister
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France sees no Olympic spike in Covid cases: minister
- A few of the 10,500 athletes set to patricipate have tested positive for Covid since arriving
Sweden plans to tighten rules for gaining citizenship
- The country has for years struggled to integrate migrants, with many not learning the language and living in disadvantaged areas with higher crime and jobless rates
STOCKHOLM: Sweden said Monday it planned to tighten rules to acquire citizenship, introducing “honest living” and financial requirements, a language and general knowledge test and raising the residency requirement from five to eight years.
If approved by parliament, the new rules would enter into force on June 6, Sweden’s national holiday, and would apply even to applications already being processed.
Migration Minister Johan Forssell, whose right-wing minority government holds a majority with the backing of the far-right Sweden Democrats, told reporters it was currently too easy to acquire Swedish citizenship.
“Citizenship needs to mean more than it does today,” he said.
“Pride is something you feel when you’ve worked hard at something. But working hard is not something that has characterised citizenship.
“It has been possible to become a citizen after five years without knowing a single word of Swedish, without knowing anything about our Swedish society, without having any own income.”
Referring to a case that recently made headlines, he said: “You can even become one while you’re sitting in custody accused of murder.
“This obviously sends completely wrong signals, both to those who do right by themselves and those who are already citizens.”
Following a large influx of migrants to Sweden during the 2015 migrant crisis, successive left- and right-wing governments have tightened asylum and migration rules.
The country has for years struggled to integrate migrants, with many not learning the language and living in disadvantaged areas with higher crime and jobless rates.
Under the new rules, those who have criminal records — in their home country or in Sweden — and who have served their sentence would have to wait up to 17 years before being allowed to apply for citizenship, up from the current 10 years.
In addition, those deemed to not adhere to “honest living” requirements would not be granted citizenship.
That could include racking up mountains of debt, being served restraining orders or even having a drug addiction.
Applicants would also have to have a monthly pre-tax income of 20,000 kronor ($2,225), excluding pensioners and students.
The citizenship tests would be similar to those used in neighboring Denmark and the United States, the government said, with the first tests due to be held in August.
