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PARIS — French Prime Minister Jean Castex on Thursday introduced a nationwide 6 p.m. curfew as of Saturday and stricter measures on the nation’s borders to restrict the unfold of coronavirus.
“The curfew will apply from 6 p.m. this Saturday and for at least 15 days,” mentioned Jean Castex throughout a press convention together with 5 ministers.
While a nationwide curfew was already enforced as early as 8 p.m., solely 25 at-risk administrative districts or départements had introduced it ahead to six p.m. till now, with the Paris area not amongst them.
The prime minister defended the measure for its “efficiency” within the first 15 districts by which it was put in place on January 2, the place he mentioned “the increase in the number of new cases is two or three times lower than in other metropolitan departments.”
The authorities’s determination to increase the measure to the complete nation was anticipated as a result of fast unfold of the virus in France, with 16,000 new circumstances a day through the previous week. The look of variants first detected within the U.Okay. has additionally raised considerations, with a minimum of 200 to 300 new circumstances a day of the variant in France, in response to Health Minister Olivier Véran.
“We must do all we can to prevent it from progressing rapidly and eventually becoming the dominant strain as the U.K. is unfortunately experiencing,” Castex added.
The prime minister additionally introduced stricter measures to go the French borders. Travelers from exterior the EU must present a unfavourable check earlier than coming into the nation and signal a sworn assertion that they’ll self isolate for seven days earlier than getting one other PCR check.
For intra-EU vacationers — notably Denmark and Ireland, that are experiencing a “difficult” epidemic scenario in response to Castex — the federal government will put in place new measures for coming into the nation. These might be introduced on the subsequent European Council on 21 January, Castex mentioned. A particular protocol might be put in place for cross-border employees in addition to freight professionals.
Castex mentioned a brand new lockdown could be thought of ought to the scenario additional deteriorate.
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