[ad_1]
northAfter a new record of nearly 10,000 new Covid-19 cases, France is relying on locally limited measures to contain the virus. French President Emmanuel Macron said on Friday that he “did not want to panic” but wanted “demanding and realistic restrictions to control the infection process.” Macron met on Friday with the most important ministers of health, interior affairs, foreign affairs and defense for a “Covid-19 Defense Council” at the Elysee Palace. Prime Minister Jean Castex was only able to connect through a screen because he went into quarantine after contacting the infected Tour de France director Christian Prudhomme.
After the talks, Castex said there will be no “general exit restrictions” for now. Instead, he asked authorities in particularly affected cities such as Marseille and Bordeaux and in the overseas territory of Gouadeloupe to propose local measures by Monday. At the same time, he cautioned to adhere to the rules of distance. “The virus is increasingly circulating in France. Tomorrow depends on you, on us. “
More recently, France had a peak of new infections in 24 hours. While the French Health Ministry spoke of nearly 10,000 new cases on Thursday, Johns Hopkins University counted nearly 9,000 cases. The prime minister spoke on Friday of a “significant deterioration” of the situation.
To control the situation, corona tests should be accelerated for people with symptoms or healthcare workers. At the same time, the quarantine period will be shortened from 14 to seven days to achieve better acceptance of the measure. According to the Ministry of Health, many French people do not comply with self-isolation.
On Friday, other departments were also classified as risk areas. A total of 42 are now the so-called red zones, before they were just under 30. There, local authorities have the opportunity to take measures that restrict public life. Red zones include, for example, the Paris metropolitan area and much of the Mediterranean coast.
“We are all part of this fight”
The highest number of infections comes from densely populated cities, where social distance rules are often broken due to lack of space. Before the talks with Castex and the ministers, Macron appealed to the sense of responsibility of the French, “because we are all part of this fight against the virus.”
The President of the Scientific Council, Jean-Francois Delfraissy, had sounded the alarm. The exponential growth in the number of infections is deeply concerning, Delfraissy said, calling for “a series of difficult decisions.” But unlike in March, Macron showed little willingness to follow the Scientific Council’s recommendations. As democratically elected president, he also had to take into account other aspects, such as “the education of our children” and “the treatment of other diseases.”
Face-to-face teaching has started again in all schools since the beginning of September. At the Seine Saint-Denis social hotspot, however, 3,900 students did not return from their holidays and did not return to classrooms. The Ministry of Education has promised to clarify.
