Coronavirus: Hot spots

Coronavirus: Paris closes bars, makes work from home a priority as it raises alert level

People at a bar in Paris last Saturday. Bars in the French capital have to close for two weeks from today and restaurants must put in place new sanitary protocols to stay open, under the reinforced curbs.
People at a bar in Paris last Saturday. Bars in the French capital have to close for two weeks from today and restaurants must put in place new sanitary protocols to stay open, under the reinforced curbs. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

PARIS • France has placed its capital Paris on maximum Covid-19 alert, meaning bars will close for two weeks from today and restaurants will have to put in place new sanitary protocols to stay open.

Prime Minister Jean Castex's office yesterday said there had been no improvement in the Paris region since the capital passed all three of the government's criteria for being put on the highest level of alert in the middle of last week.

Working from home should be prioritised "now more than ever" in the Paris area and university lecture halls should be no more than half full, Mr Castex's office said in a statement. The reinforced restrictions will take effect from today.

"These measures, indispensable in the fight to curb the virus' spread, will apply to Paris and the three departments immediately surrounding it, for a duration of two weeks," it said.

For a city to be placed on maximum alert, the incidence rate must exceed 100 infections per 100,000 among elderly inhabitants and 250 per 100,000 among the general public, while at least 30 per cent of intensive care beds are reserved for coronavirus patients.

A week ago, restaurants and bars were shut down for a fortnight in Marseille, the southern city at the epicentre of the second wave, prompting protests and an unsuccessful legal challenge.

Restaurants in Marseille will be allowed to reopen early under the same new protocols.

France on Sunday reported 12,565 new cases of coronavirus, while 893 Covid-19 patients were admitted to intensive care in hospital over the past week.

Over in Ireland, the government faced political and business resistance yesterday to a surprise recommendation by health chiefs for Europe's first major second-wave national lockdown to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed as coronavirus cases rise.

The National Public Health Emergency Team called for a leap to the highest level of Covid-19 restrictions, Level 5, late on Sunday, just three days after telling the government the current Level 2 status for most of the country was appropriate. Under Level 5, people would be asked to stay at home, except to exercise within 5km, with only essential retailers allowed to stay open.

The leaders of the three governing coalition partners were scheduled to meet Ireland's chief medical officer yesterday before Cabinet considers the advice.

Ireland reopened its economy at a slower pace than most of Europe from May and while its large multinational sector has shielded it from the worst of the economic hit, the unemployment rate is stuck at just below 15 per cent even as the government props up wages in many parts of the economy.

In Italy, the government will likely impose new curbs on the country this week to try to beat back rising numbers of coronavirus cases, Health Minister Roberto Speranza said on Sunday.

The Cabinet is due to meet today to decide how to respond to an increase in infections, with southern Italian regions for the first time looking vulnerable to the disease. The measures under review include making the wearing of masks obligatory outdoors and reintroducing curbs on social gatherings.

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 06, 2020, with the headline Coronavirus: Paris closes bars, makes work from home a priority as it raises alert level. Subscribe