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PARIS: France’s Health Minister released a map of coronavirus “danger zones” across the country on Wednesday (September 23), giving the hardest hit local authorities, including Marseille, days to toughen up restrictions or run the risk of declaring a state of health emergency. there.
Olivier Veran told a press conference that the country would be zoned by alert level with Marseille, the second largest city, and the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe for now the only two areas placed at the “maximum” alert level. .
Paris and its suburbs, but also the northern city of Lille, the southwestern city of Toulouse and six other cities were declared “reinforced danger zones,” Veran added.
“In the event that the health situation worsens even more in these areas, a state of health emergency would be established,” said the minister.
Like other European countries where the infection rate has skyrocketed in the last month, France has been gradually tightening the limits on public and private gatherings at the local level, in the hope that it is enough to contain the disease and prevent a second national blockade.
After a summer hiatus, the government of President Emmanuel Macron has been willing to allow local authorities to take action locally based on the severity of the COVID-19 outbreaks, rather than taking comprehensive action from the central government in Paris.
Several indicators are being taken into account to define the different levels of danger that Veran presents: the number of infected people in general; the number of people 65 years and older infected; and the proportion of COVID-19 patients in intensive care units.
READ: COVID-19: Paris to ban gatherings of more than 10 people
Shortly after Veran spoke, French health authorities reported 13,072 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 over 24 hours, the daily count exceeding 13,000 for the third time in six days.
And, nationally, the number of people in ICU is around the 1,000 threshold, which is a maximum of 3.5 months.
In Paris and the other cities now labeled “reinforced danger zones,” attendance at major events will be limited to 1,000 out of the 5,000 now allowed, pre-planned events, such as student parties, will be banned, and bars and restaurants they will have to close at 10 pm at the latest.
Local officials representing the central government in different regions will have a couple of days to enforce these measures.
READ: Parisians queue in the dark for COVID-19 tests
Two government sources said that the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, had vigorously resisted restrictions on the opening hours of bars and cafes in the capital, arguing that this would be economically devastating for the sector.
The Hidalgo councilor in charge of health issues confirmed the mayor’s resistance to the measures, arguing that they would not be sustainable in the long term.
Among other measures, public gatherings of more than 10 people will be prohibited and, in areas with a “maximum” alert level such as Marseille, bars and restaurants will be closed from Saturday.
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