France once again “closed city” nationwide to curb the COVID-19
French President Macron announced on the 28th that to curb the spread of the COVID-19, France will once again “close the city” across the country from the 30th.
Macron announced in a televised speech that day that the nationwide “closed city” will continue until at least December 1. During the “closed city” period, all non-essential travel of the people is prohibited, and travel certificates will be required to travel for work, medical treatment, purchase of daily necessities, etc.; private gatherings and public gatherings are prohibited; cross-regional travel is restricted, but this weekend’s Halloween holiday return Except; kindergartens and primary and secondary schools will continue to be open, universities will be closed and online teaching will be conducted. In addition, the government encourages companies to implement telecommuting as much as possible, and encourages remote order placement, home delivery, and takeaway sales.
Macron said that the spread of the COVID-19 has exceeded expectations. The epidemic in all regions of France has reached an alert level. The number of patients receiving intensive care may be close to 9,000 by mid-November. This wave of epidemics will be more serious than the first wave. Therefore, epidemic prevention measures must be tightened to protect the general public, especially the elderly and other vulnerable groups.
Macron said that compared with the first “closed city”, this time the restrictions on economic activities have been relaxed, and public service departments, factories, farms, and construction will continue to operate. To help companies alleviate their difficulties, the government will resume the implementation of the “partial unemployment” measure, which allows companies to apply to the government to reduce the working hours of their employees, and employees can be compensated for their losses. In addition, companies closed due to administrative measures can get a maximum of 1 per month Ten thousand euros of government subsidies.
Macron said that France will not adopt a herd immunity strategy. Currently, France conducts approximately 1.9 million new coronavirus tests every week, and the government is currently working to increase intensive care beds.
In order to prevent and control the new crown epidemic, France implemented a nationwide “closed city” for the first time on March 17, and will unblock it in stages starting on May 11.
According to data published on the French government website on the 28th, the country has newly confirmed 36,437 new cases of new crown in the past 24 hours, with a total of 1,235,132 confirmed cases and a total of 35,785 deaths.
