The Grand Place de Lille on the 1st day of the 2nd confinement.

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M.Libert / 20 Minutes

  • The coronavirus epidemic is progressing rapidly in 16 departments of France.

  • The 5 departments of Hauts-de-France are affected by new restriction measures.

  • A “light” confinement will be put in place with the closure of non-essential businesses and outings will be limited to a radius of 10 km from home.

This Thursday evening, during the government's usual update on the coronavirus epidemic, the Prime Minister announced new, stricter measures.

But while we expected a reconfinement on the weekend, especially in Hauts-de-France, Jean Castex preferred measures to "curb the virus without locking us up".

As we wrote on Wednesday, the epidemic numbers are not good in the region.

They are even worse than when the lockdowns of March and October 2020 were declared.

And if the incidence rates of Dunkirk and Pas-de-Calais, already confined at weekends, are starting to drop, they are on the rise almost everywhere else.

"The Hauts-de-France is preparing to cross the threshold of 400 contaminations per 100,000 inhabitants and the peak of the 2nd wave has been reached, or even exceeded," Jean Castex said Thursday evening.

To this must be added a "critical situation in hospital services" and the arrival in intensive care of "younger people, in better health and for longer stays", he added.

Unlimited outings in time but not in space

According to Jean Castex, “the weekend confinement had a real effect, but not enough”.

The government therefore decided to proceed differently.

Sixteen departments, including the 5 of Hauts-de-France, are confined for four weeks from Friday at midnight.

However, residents will retain the right to go out during the day without any time limit but without exceeding a radius of 10 km around their home and by providing themselves with a certificate.

Inter-regional travel will be prohibited.

The curfew is also pushed back by one hour, set at 7 p.m. everywhere in France.

To avoid contact in closed places, only essential shops will have the right to open.

This time, however, book and music stores will be included.

The places of worship will be able to continue to receive the public.

The government has decided not to close the schools.

In the first and second stages, students will continue to attend face-to-face lessons.

On the other hand, the high schools will all have to apply the principle of the half-gauge.

The universities keep their current mode of operation.

All these measures will come into force on Friday evening for a period of 4 weeks.

The government however specified that they could be modified, even extended to other departments according to the evolution of the health situation.

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  • Covid 19

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  • Lille

  • epidemic