INTERNATIONAL: France's Prime Minister Jean Castex announced a series of new measures on Monday to curb the spread of COVID-19 during the New Year festivities and urged their countrymen to respect the preventive measures.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in France reached 9,146,451, an increase of 30,383 in 24 hours, according to data released by the French Health Ministry on December 27. A total of 122,898 deaths had been reported by the end of the day, an increase of 256 in 24 hours.

On December 27, the Council of Ministers and the Public Health Defense Council held meetings, with President Emmanuel Macron presiding over the latter one.

Since Jan. 3, 2022, people will be mandated to work from home three days per week under possible conditions, Castex said. In addition, after Jan. 3, indoor activities will be limited to 2,000 people and outdoor events to 5,000.

Standing eating is strictly prohibited in public places, including the public transport and cinemas.

The French government will also toughen penalties for those who fake "health passes", as it is reported that tens of thousands of people have fake ones.

The government plans to transform the health pass into a vaccine pass from January 15, 2022 , which will serve as proof of vaccination and will enable people to take part in many everyday activities.

For a vaccine pass to be valid, people must be fully vaccinated - a negative test will not be accepted. The bill on the vaccine pass requires approval from the National Assembly and the Senate.

As the Omicron variant of COVID 19 is spreading in the country at an unprecedented speed, the government will continue to step up its vaccination campaign.

Castex announced that the interval between booster shots and the first two doses has been shortened again. Starting from December 28, people may make appointments for booster shots three months after the second dose.

The prime minister said that there will be no curfew in the country on the New Year's Eve.