French Prime Minister Jean-Claude Castet announced a series of new restrictions Friday night, including the closure of borders with non-EU countries, to curb the spread of the new coronavirus and hopefully to “avoid going into a third closure”.
“The next few days will be decisive,” Castet said in a speech after the defense council at the Elysee Palace on Friday, according to AFP.
Castet announced the closure of the border to countries outside the European Union from midnight Sunday. And anyone entering France from an EU country will have to show proof of a negative nucleic acid test. The measure, which has been in place since last Sunday for air and sea transport, has been extended to land transport since Sunday.
In addition, Castet also announced a series of new restrictions, including the closure of “non-Food shopping centers” with an area of more than 20,000 square meters as of this week, and from Monday, all companies will work more intensively remotely. Castet said that curfews and secret parties after 18:00 and the “illegal opening” of restaurants will be monitored more closely and that “harsher penalties will be imposed on those who violate the existing rules”. Castel said that although France is doing better than some of its neighbors in controlling the outbreak, “the situation is worrisome”.
France’s health ministry reported Friday night that 23,000 new cases had been confirmed and that hospital admissions and the number of seriously ill patients had both increased.
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