Paris will be placed on ‘maximum alert’ with further Kovid-19 restrictions

Paris and its surrounding suburbs were placed on “maximum alert” Monday as coronavirus cases rose in the city.

Bars in the French capital will be closed on Tuesday as part of a new package of sanctions designed to stop the spread of the virus, but restaurants will be allowed to remain open with “strengthened precautions” under France 24.

Specific measures prescribed by Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo will take effect from Tuesday at 11.30am local time on Monday. The measures will continue for 15 days, the news agency said. University halls should not be more than half full.

Labor Minister Elizabeth Bourne appealed to people in the affected areas to work from home if possible.

There were nearly 17,000 new cases in France on Saturday and another 12,565 infections on Sunday. According to official public health data, The total number of cases reached 629,509, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

The incidence rate of Kovid-19 exceeds 250 infections per 100,000 people and is kept under maximum warning in Paris. Maximum alert is also triggered when two other criteria are met – when the incidence rate in those over 65 is more than 100 per 100,000 people, and at least 30% of beds in intensive care units are allocated to Kovid-19 patients.

France has moved to contain a second wave of coronavirus cases that began to build in August. France’s second largest city Marseille, Aix-en-Provence and its environs, as well as foreign territory Guadeloupe have also been placed under the maximum warning protocol over the past two weeks.

Among those announcing the limitation measures was the head of the Paris Regional Health Agency on Monday, Ure Relian Rousseau, who tweeted on Sunday that it was futile to ignore the severity of the situation: “I see no reason for rejection. The statistics are there, they weigh heavily.”

In comments reported on Sunday, Interior Minister Gerald Dermanin said the closure of bars and cafes was “tough” for the public.

“We are French, we like to drink, eat, live, smile and kiss each other,” he told broadcasters LCI and Europe 1 on Sunday. “But we do it too because people want us,” he says.