France recorded 5,298 new cases of Covid-19 in 24 hours, less than this weekend, but the positivity rate increased for the third day in a row, according to data released Monday, September 21 by Public Health France ( SpF).
This is less than at the end of the week, when the country had counted nearly 13,500 new cases on Saturday and more than 10,500 on Sunday.
About 20% of intensive care beds are occupied by patients with Covid-19 in Île-de-France, indicated on Europe 1 Aurélien Rousseau, the director general of the Regional Health Agency (ARS), who expects to "high tension in 15 days / 3 weeks".
Since Monday, 20 new screening centers have been opened in the region: two per department and 6 in Paris, given the density.
>> To read: New record with nearly 13,500 new cases in 24 hours
Lyon is strengthening measures
After Marseille and Nice, the Rhône prefect announced on Monday new measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 in the Lyon metropolitan area: public gatherings limited to 1,000 people, additional areas where wearing a mask is compulsory, limitation visits to nursing homes.
On the other hand, the early closure of bars and restaurants is not planned to date in Lyon, contrary to what has been decided in Marseille or Nice.
Only standing consumption has been banned.
Covid-19: The infectious diseases department of the Croix-Rousse hospital in Lyon is already experiencing the second wave https://t.co/mpqxGQfZBa pic.twitter.com/dwsxpI9YLo
- franceinfo (@franceinfo) September 21, 2020
"Controls will be strengthened. If we find any breaches of barrier gestures in these establishments, there will be sanctions and I will not hesitate to demand their administrative closure", warned Pascal Mailhos at a press conference.
"These measures are taken for 15 days. If they are not effective enough, we will take more severe ones," he said.
"The goal is to preserve activities as much as possible," noted the prefect.
"It's a bet".
Screw tower in Toulouse
The prefecture of Haute-Garonne has also reduced the public gauge from 5,000 to 1,000 people for all events, including sports, in the department, and reduced the opening hours of bars.
The administration, which had already strengthened the anti-Covid arsenal by limiting in particular festive activities in Toulouse, justifies this new turn of the screw by the evolution, which continues to be "unfavorable", in incidence rates.
With 159.5 positive cases per 100,000 inhabitants identified on Sunday, Haute-Garonne exceeds departments such as Gironde or Alpes-Maritimes, notes the prefecture in a press release.
Toulouse: 127 Insa students positive for Covid-19, "irresponsible behavior" https://t.co/zwfE0rBPlz pic.twitter.com/bXzFNb6s7q
- South West (@sudouest) September 16, 2020
Under the new measures, which will come into force Wednesday, "events bringing together more than 1,000 people are prohibited throughout the department".
In Toulouse itself, the fourth largest city in France with a large student population, bars and restaurants will have to close at 1 a.m., instead of 2 a.m. on weekdays and 3 a.m. on weekends.
They will reopen at 6 p.m., instead of 5 p.m.
Restrictive measures in Guadeloupe
If the state of health emergency has been lifted in Mayotte and Guyana, this is not the case in Guadeloupe.
The island is in the leading pack of the departments with the highest prevalence of Covid-19.
Here too, the authorities have stepped up the measures.
Bars and restaurants close at 10 p.m.
And as often, the reactions are mixed.
The government plans to close bars and ban gatherings if the health situation does not improve.
Even @raoult_didier now recognizes that there is a second wave!
Covid-19: the situation is deteriorating in Marseille, Professor Raoult recognizes "more deaths for 10 days"
https://t.co/S1Onj4Q1CG
- Laurent Alexandre (@dr_l_alexandre) September 8, 2020
In Rennes, Monday, the city administrative court dismissed the bar owners who challenged the prefectural order ordering the closure of establishments at 11 p.m., due to the acceleration of the circulation of Covid-19 in the department.
"The decree is confirmed," Anne Vimont-Gabaury, one of the lawyers for the Union des trades de l'hotel industry d'Ille-et-Vilaine, told AFP.
"The judge retained the state of health, the fact that it was young people who were most affected," said the lawyer.
With AFP
The summary of the week
France 24 invites you to come back to the news that marked the week
I subscribe
Take international news everywhere with you!
Download the France 24 application
google-play-badge_FR