To stem the spread of Covid-19, the coast of the Alpes-Maritimes will be confined over the next two weekends, the prefect announced on Monday morning. The confinement of this French department will take place from Friday evening 6 p.m. to Monday morning 6 a.m. The choice to impose localized containment on weekends is a first in France.
Controls at the airports of the Alpes-Maritimes and at the Italian border will be “reinforced”, also warned the prefect. During a period of 15 days, businesses of more than 5,000m2, except pharmacies and food stores, will also be closed in the department.
10% of tests are positive
The incidence rate is particularly high in the city of Nice, with more than 700 positive cases per 100,000 inhabitants. This is more than three times the national average (190), while around 10% of screening tests are positive (against 6% for France as a whole).
The putting under cover on Saturdays and Sundays of the coastal towns, from Menton to Théoule-sur-Mer, was favored by the LR mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, to discourage the influx of tourists. At the same time, “However, we do not deprive economic activity of turning for traders, for artisans“, he explained.
In France, 22,000 new cases of contamination on Sunday
On a national level, “the trend is not good“admitted government spokesman Gabriel Attal. More than 22,000 new cases of contamination were recorded on Sunday, the same level as on Saturday, and hospital pressure remains at a high level, with more than 25,000 patients from Covid hospitalized.
The sunny weekend raised fears of a relaxation of barrier gestures. The Interior Ministry reported on Sunday nearly 4,600 verbalizations the day before throughout France for non-compliance with the curfew.
“The trend is unfortunately not to loosen the constraint“, said Gabriel Attal, reiterating that the government’s objective is, as much as possible, to avoid a third confinement.
#French #cities #confined #weekend
