Guadeloupe: public parties prohibited, access to regulated beaches

Access times "to beaches, rivers and bodies of water" will be restricted in Guadeloupe and the organization of private parties will be prohibited, announced Thursday the prefect of the island, after its classification in maximum alert zone at Covid-19.

"Beaches, rivers and bodies of water" will no longer be accessible between 11:30 am and 2:30 pm then from 7 pm, from Saturday and "for a period of 15 days", announced the prefect of Guadeloupe, Alexandre Rochatte .

Avoid picnics and family celebrations

"Contact tracing makes it possible to see that contamination is now done in the private sphere", indicate the authorities to justify their decision.

However, weekends in Guadeloupe are rich in picnics and family gatherings on the beaches or by the rivers.

In addition, the authorities have decided to ban the organization of private parties communicated to the general public, via social networks, and certain flights from and to Guadeloupe will be restricted to compelling reasons for travel, in particular with Saint- Martin and Martinique.

"The measures in force, such as teleworking (...), remain in place" as well as "sports behind closed doors", added the prefect.

Regarding gymnasiums, stadiums and other places of sports practice, which could close, the prefect said to wait "for details from the ministry before communicating on the subject".

These latest measures are in addition to those announced by the Minister of Health on Wednesday such as the closure of bars and restaurants on Saturday, the ban on assembling with more than 10 in public spaces and those already in force for a long time. fortnight.

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Measures that do not sufficiently target situations conducive to contamination?

"I discussed Wednesday with the elected representatives of the territory who all converge on strong measures", indicated the prefect.

Some elected officials, such as the President of the Department, Josette Borel-Lincertin, would even have liked the establishment of a curfew (for the time being refused by the authorities, outside of the state of health emergency).

"The ARS confirms that the contaminations take place mainly in the private sphere. And yet, the measures taken affect this dimension only at the margin. Am I the only one to see an inconsistency there", she asks.

"If we do not bring down the reproduction rate of the virus below 1, the epidemic will not regress", underlines for her part the director general of the ARS, Valérie Denux, recalling again the situation of tension of the CHU which activated level 6 of the Orsan plan, and which will be supported by the arrival of military medical personnel at the end of the week.