Coronavirus: French government announces new restrictions
French Minister of Health Olivier Véran, during the information point on the coronavirus epidemic, September 23, 2020. AFP / POOL / Eliot Blondet
Text by: RFI Follow
6 min
Faced with the progression of the Covid-19 epidemic in France, the government announced this Wednesday, September 23, new draconian measures, in particular in Marseille and Guadeloupe.
Publicity
Read more
Faced with the resumption of the Covid-19 epidemic in France, the government sees red, even scarlet.
The Minister of Health Olivier Véran announced this Wednesday during a televised intervention the implementation of draconian territorialized measures which will be reassessed every fortnight.
"
The overall situation continues to deteriorate, in certain territories, and the health consequences, in particular the level of hospital tension, requires that we take additional measures
", justified Olivier Véran.
It is therefore necessary "to
reduce and regulate certain events and activities which we know are particularly conducive to the circulation of the virus
", he explained to justify these measures, the most stringent adopted since the end of the generalized containment of the
virus.
population on May 11.
Aix-Marseille and Guadeloupe in "maximum alert zone"
Particularly affected by the resurgence of the epidemic, the Aix-Marseille metropolis and Guadeloupe have thus been placed in "maximum alert zone".
Bars and restaurants will be closed there from Saturday.
All establishments open to the public will also have to close, unless there is a strict sanitary protocol already in place.
Theaters, cinemas and museums, where these protocols are already mandatory, are therefore not affected.
This level is the last before the state of health emergency, according to the new classification of the authorities.
Eleven other metropolises are in "enhanced alert zone", the level just below: Paris, Lille, Toulouse, Saint-Etienne, Rennes, Rouen, Grenoble, Montpellier, Bordeaux, Lyon and Nice.
In these areas, the maximum level for major events will notably be lowered to 1,000 people, against 5,000 until then.
From Monday, "
the bars will not be able to remain open beyond 10 pm,
" said Olivier Véran, recalling that the closing time will be decided by the prefect, after consultation with local elected officials.
In these areas, gatherings of more than 10 people in public spaces will also be prohibited, as will local or student parties.
Sports halls and gymnasiums will be closed.
The Minister of Health Olivier Véran details the measures concerning the areas on heightened alert
RFI
Anger in Marseille
In Marseille, these new announcements go badly.
"
I learn with astonishment and anger a decision for which the City of Marseille was not consulted
", reacted on Twitter the mayor Michèle Rubirola (EELV).
"
Nothing in the health situation justifies this announcement,
" she added.
LR president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, Renaud Muselier, for his part qualified this decision "
taken unilaterally
" as "
collective punishment
".
For his part, the first deputy of the mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire, sees in the early closure of bars from Monday "
an immense economic risk
" and says he is "
dubious
", estimating that "
the maximum risk is in the spaces private
”.
Indicators have deteriorated for several weeks in France, where the epidemic has already killed more than 31,000 people.
The country has recorded 13,072 new cases of Covid-19 in 24 hours while the test positivity rate continues to climb, according to data released Wednesday by Public Health France.
There are currently "
nearly 6,000 patients (of Covid) hospitalized, more than 600 hospitalizations per day for a few days
" including "
a hundred in intensive care
".
Our selection on the coronavirus
•
Listen to our
Coronavirus Info
column
•
Our
explanations
:
→
What are the persistent symptoms of Covid-19?
→
Young people and Covid-19
: health authorities concerned
→
Immunity to Covid-19 would be short-lived
→
Promising results for the vaccine against the coronavirus
•
How to make a mask and use it well
•
See also the
records
of
RFI Knowledge
on Covid-19
→
Birth of a pandemic
→
Daily proof
→
The history of epidemics
→
Science facing Covid-19
→
The geopolitical consequences
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR
France
Coronavirus
Health and medicine