Paris Back on Maximum COVID Alert Status

The Paris region is back on maximum COVID alert status. On Monday, authorities in France prohibited parties in public and ordered bars closed, however, restaurants were left open.

A Surge in COVID Cases Puts Paris Back on High Alert

According to the Paris police prefect Didier Lallement, the new restrictions would be kept at least a couple of weeks.

Lallement also added that they were “continuously adapting to the reality of the virus” and “taking measures to slow down (its spread).”

Authorities in France think that bars are the major infection hot spots because people don’t respect social distancing there. As a result, bars in the Paris region will close on Tuesday. 

At this point, restaurants will continue to work under strict conditions, involving a minimum one-meter distance between each table. Gatherings will be limited to six people and the registering of customer names and phone numbers to warn the ones who may have been exposed to clients with COVID-19 will also be utilized.

Gyms in Paris are now closed, and sports facilities such as swimming pools will only be open to children aged under 18. Professional shows are prohibited, while theaters, cinemas, and museums will be working under strict rules.

According to the director of the Regional Health Authority, Aurelien Rousseau, nearly 3,500 new COVID-19 cases are confirmed each day in the Paris region, and 36% of ICU beds in the area are already occupied by patients with the virus.

Paris eatery owner Virgil Grunberg said “I’m relieved that I don’t have to close and that the rules are not more stringent” and that he feels customers “are not going to be scared by the new restrictions.”

A client at Cafe des Anges in Paris said that, “it’s an unprecedented situation for everybody — citizens, companies, government — and I think collectively we’re all trying to do our best.”

The COVID alert in the southern city of Marseille, the nearby Aix-en-Provence, and the French overseas territory of Guadeloupe has already been raised to the maximum level for the next 12 days.