The Ile-de-France region, where Paris is located, and five other French departments enter this Friday in “confinement for adults”, announced Thursday (18) the French Prime Minister, Jean Castex.
Over the next four weeks, people will be able to leave their homes, but they will not be able to move more than 10 km from their homes. “The rules of the game are clear” and are based on “common sense” and not childishness, “he said.
“These are steps to stop the virus without imprisoning us,” Castex said, asking people to be “hyper-strict” in private meetings and to continue to adopt all basic behaviors to avoid contagion.
According to the Prime Minister, restrictions are necessary as France is entering a third wave of contamination, mainly because of more transmissible variants.
In the past 24 hours, 38,000 new infections have been confirmed in the country, against 35,000 the day before.
At the same time, the French government reduced the length of the curfew across the country. From Saturday it now starts at 7:00 p.m. instead of 6:00 p.m. and runs until 6:00 a.m.
“It’s about allowing more time to be spent on the streets, but not for socializing or going out partying with friends,” Castex said.
The new measures for Paris were taken because the incidence rate of new cases increased by 23% in one week, to 446/100 thousand inhabitants, increasing the pressure on hospitals.
Schools and colleges will be open during times of light lockdown, and high schools will have reduced hours. Extracurricular activities are also permitted. Essentials stores can open, which include bookstores and those that sell musical items.
Interregional travel is prohibited except for work or in an emergency, and Castex called on companies to promote remote working.
When that is not possible, the prime minister warned that workers did not show up to the office with suspected contamination. According to the minister, half of the infections in the workplace are caused by people who visit the company when they already show symptoms of Covid-19.