In an attempt to slow the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus in the Pyrénées-Orientales, the authorities have announced that bars and restaurants should close as of 11 p.m. from Sunday evening.
A hard blow for professionals in the sector, like Thomas, encountered by Europe 1.
TESTIMONY
In the Pyrénées-Orientales, the health situation has pushed the authorities to tighten the screw.
As the department faces a new explosion in coronavirus cases, the prefecture announced on Saturday that bars and restaurants should close at 11 p.m. from Sunday evening and until August 2.
A decision that sounds like a hammer blow for professionals in the sector, while the summer season is in full swing.
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Explosion of contaminations in the Pyrénées-Orientales: "This department gets the ball rolling"
"We thought we were rid of", reacts on Europe 1 Thomas, manager of the restaurant
La Table de Thomas,
in Perpignan.
"We saw people happy to go out, to enjoy the summer, the beautiful evenings ... There, we are going to have a real hard blow, a real brake."
"It's time for life to start again"
"In a week, my restaurant is empty at 11 pm, while there, we have a full terrace", still regrets Thomas, for whom "we were coming back to life after eight months of sleep".
"Our staff will be asking questions to which we have no answers," he adds, describing "a fairly young team which has followed the government's instructions on vaccination".
And to conclude: "It is high time for life to resume".
On Friday, the state services had already imposed from Saturday and until August 2 throughout the department the wearing of masks in public spaces, except on the beach and large natural spaces as well as the ban on consumption of alcoholic drinks in public spaces outside restaurants and bars. In the space of a week, the incidence rate fell from 41.5 / 100,000 inhabitants to 258.8 / 100,000 inhabitants on July 16.