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FFrance has again ordered a strict blockade. President Emmanuel Macron announced on television Wednesday night that the national curfew, which “stopped” the virus in the spring, must be reintroduced. Because France was “overwhelmed by the sudden acceleration of the pandemic”, as he admitted in his speech. And he warned: “The second wave will be more deadly than the first.”
Therefore, France is returning to a series of restrictions: it is forbidden to visit friends and leave your own region for private purposes. Restaurants, cafes, bars, theaters and cinemas have to close again throughout France. Airports for flights outside the European Union will also be closed again. If you want to leave home, you need a complete paper ticket or mobile phone. It is allowed to walk and drive to and from work, take children there and pick them up from school and kindergarten, buy food, support dependent people, walk pets and certain outdoor sports.
Schools, kindergartens and cemeteries remain open
Macron and his government have given some relief to the population in relation to the curfew in the spring: schools and kindergartens will remain open, as will public service facilities, including cemeteries. Visits to nursing homes are also allowed. Businesses should allow their employees to work from home as much as possible.
The new rules go into effect Thursday through Friday night. They must last until at least December 1. Macron promised to review the situation in two weeks for the most affected retailer, which now has to close again, to introduce possible relief if the pandemic recedes. The goal is to reduce the number of new infections each day from about 40,000 to about 5,000. Macron also promised more government aid, such as grants of 10,000 euros a month for small businesses. The state will also help with outstanding rent payments.
France had no choice, Macron pleaded. Experts fear that by the beginning of November almost all intensive care beds in France will be occupied by Covid patients. On Wednesday, the patients had to be transferred again from a hospital in Avignon to Brest. The government has come under severe criticism in recent weeks. The opposition regretted that the summer was left idle instead of expanding capacities in the health sector.
Macron dismissed the criticism, reporting that the number of intensive care beds in France had risen from 5,000 to 6,000. But it takes 5 years for a nurse who can be used in the intensive care unit to be trained, for an anesthetist it takes 10 years. Also, it is not an acceptable way to allow the virus to spread freely because it is life-threatening and leaves “scars” in many healed people. France is one of the top testing countries with 1.9 million tests per week, Macron said. However, he admitted that the monitoring of cases of infection and the isolation of patients could be implemented in an even more “efficient” way. Tests with results in 30 minutes should also be entered quickly.
“We have to remain united and be in solidarity and not give in to the poison of division,” the president pleaded, adding: “Stay home as much as possible, respect the rules.” Tomorrow, Thursday, the government will present the measures in detail. France had introduced an evening curfew in some parts of the country two weeks ago, affecting around two-thirds of its citizens. However, for 20 million French people, life continued virtually unchanged. Now the entire country is being returned to powerful isolation.
