Coronavirus in France – Maximum alert: Paris closes its operations for two weeks – News

After the end of the holidays, Paris has to massively toughen the Covid-19 regime. Among other things, cafes and bars will be closed.

Paris, the city of lights, boulevards, cafes and museums is pulling the emergency brake in the fight against the spread of the corona virus. The “high alert” for the capital is not entirely unexpected, says French correspondent Daniel Voll.

Daniel Voll

SRF Correspondent for France and the Maghreb

Open the person boxClose the person box

Daniel Voll has been a France correspondent for Radio SRF, based in Paris, since 2018. The Maghreb is also part of his reporting area. Before that, he worked as an EU correspondent and foreign editor for SRF.

SRF News: What does “high alert” mean in Paris?

Daniel Voll: Police time today at 10pm and then all the bars will be closed for two weeks. Only restaurants and brasseries are open with a strict sanitary protocol and limited space. Space is limited and a strict sanitary concept is applied. Sporting events, fairs and congresses have been canceled. Course capacity is cut in half. Gyms and swimming pools are closed. Gatherings of more than ten people on public land are prohibited. This also applies to weddings and family celebrations.

Why all of a sudden this urgency?

The restrictions are not so unexpected. A week ago, Marseille was the first major city to be on high alert. At that time it was already being discussed how things should go with Paris and the closer agglomeration, because the numbers were not far from those of Marseille.

Why and where has Corona spread so much in Paris?

Covid-19 is more widespread in the departments directly adjacent to Paris, especially in Hauts-de-Seine and Val-de-Marne. It looks a little better in the city center.

The situation worsened dramatically at the end of the holidays. The virus is widespread in universities, where 40 percent of infections appear to occur. The disease is milder in children, but they also transmit it to older people. In certain intensive care units, occupancy doubled in a few days in September. At the moment, an average of 36 percent are occupied by Covid patients. Less urgent operations are already postponed until next spring.

Interview conducted by Ivana Pribakovic.