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HEALTH

France extends curfew to cover half the country as Covid-19 situation worsens

France has extended its nighttime curfew to 54 départements - roughly half of the country - as the Prime Minister says the health situation 'continues to deteriorate'.

Published: 22 October 2020 17:03 CEST
Updated: 23 October 2020 08:59 CEST
France extends curfew to cover half the country as Covid-19 situation worsens
Prime minister Jean Castex announced the extension of the curfew. Photo: AFP

For the past week the whole of the greater Paris Île-de-France region and the metropoles of Lille, Lyon, Saint-Etienne, Grenoble, Aix-Marseille, Montpellier, Rouen and Toulouse have been the subject of a 9pm to 6am curfew.

On Thursday, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced that this measure would be extended to cover 38 new départements, starting at midnight on Friday/Saturday.

The new rules will cover a total of 54 of France's 96 mainland départements – and approximately 46 million people – and will continue for the next six weeks.

MAP: These are the areas of France under curfew

 

Castex said: “Let’s say it clearly, the situation is serious. It’s serious in France and in Europe.

“These past days the situation has continued to deteriorate.

“The number of cases has trebled over the past week and the number of deaths continue to rise.”

The rules for the curfew in the new zones will be the same as those already in place in Paris and other cities – people only allowed out of their homes for essential reasons between 9pm and 6am and every trip out of the home during that period requiring a permission form.

READ ALSO What you need to know about France's new nighttime curfew 

During the first week of curfew, Castex said that 32,033 police checks had been made and 4,777 fines issued.

The fine for breaching curfew is €135, rising to €3,750 for repeat offenders.

Castex added: “If we do not collectively succeed in curbing the epidemic, we will have to take tougher measures.

“We still have time to avoid that, but there is not much time left.”

The full list of départements concerned are; Loire, Rhône, Nord, Paris, Isère, Hauts-de-Seine, Val-d'Oise, Val-de-Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis, Essonne, Bouches-du-Rhône, Haute-Garonne, Yvelines, Hérault, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Loire, Ain, Savoie, Ardèche, Saône-et-Loire, Aveyron, Ariège, Tarn-et-Garonne, Tarn, Pyrénées-Orientales, Gard, Vaucluse, Puy-de-Dôme, Hautes-Alpes, Pas-de-Calais, Drôme, Oise, Haute-Savoie, Jura, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Haute-Corse, Calvados, Hautes-Pyrénées, Corse-du-Sud, Lozère, Haute-Vienne, Côte-d'Or, Ardennes, Var, Indre-et-Loire, Aube, Loiret, Maine-et-Loire, Bas-Rhin, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Marne, Alpes-Maritimes and Ille-et-Vilaine.

New anti-Covid app

The government also relaunched their Covid-19 app as TousAntiCovid, developed after the former app – StopCovid – flopped.

StopCovid was “not downloaded enough times to be an effective tool in the fight against the coronavirus,” Digital Affairs Secretary Cedric O said. “It was a missed opportunity.”

“This is only useful if a lot of people use it,” he said, urging all French to download the relaunched app as a “supplementary health barrier gesture” to protect them from the virus.

“If you have crossed paths with a person who is infected with the virus and both of you have the app, you will be alerted as soon as that person receive their test results,” he said.

For more details on how to find the app and how it works – click here.

 

Member comments

  1. A curfew isn’t going to do it. Travel restrictions should be brought back in but Macron is just to afraid. Parisians have just arrived in my village for the school holidays, so a curfew in Paris is not working fine for us living in an area with few cases.

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HEALTH

French health authorities warn of risk of ‘epidemic’ from mosquito-borne disease

French health authorities have sounded the alarm about the 'fairly high risk' of an epidemic of mosquito-borne illnesses in the next five years in France.

Published: 17 September 2024 10:58 CEST
French health authorities warn of risk of 'epidemic' from mosquito-borne disease

ANSES (Agence nationale de sécurité sanitaire de l’alimentation, de l’environnement et du travail), the French body for environment and health safety – published a report on Friday finding that France is at a ‘fairly high risk’ of epidemics linked to tiger mosquitoes.

Tiger mosquitoes (Aedes albopictus) are known for their ability to carry dangerous diseases such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika virus. These diseases can be dangerous, but deaths are rare in countries where people have access to good healthcare.

So far, the insect has been detected in 78 of France’s 95 mainland départements – gradually spreading north as global temperatures warm.

READ MORE: MAP: Tiger mosquitoes reach northern France

ANSES wrote in their report that “in the next five years, an epidemic of mosquito-borne illnesses has a probability between 6 and 7, on a scale of 0 to 9.”

In terms of when the ‘epidemic’ level is reached, one of the two coordinators of the study, Émeline Barrès, explained in the report: “We talk about an epidemic when it is not possible to link all the infected people to one single outbreak.

“This means that the transmissions are beyond the control system.”

ANSES also added that “the emergence of an epidemic depends on a number of factors.

“These include the presence of tiger mosquitoes in the country, climatic conditions favourable to their reproduction (in particular the accumulation of hot days over a given period and rainfall), the arrival of infections in people from areas where viruses are circulating, and the effectiveness of measures to combat tiger mosquitoes and the transmission of viruses.”

What would happen if there was an epidemic?

Experts expressed concerns in a number of areas.

“In the event of an epidemic, the current means to prevent and monitor mosquito-borne illnesses would become overwhelmed”, the researchers wrote.

They also referenced fears about the health system being under strain if a large number of cases were to occur over a wide area, as well as impacts on the tourism industry.

Anses also recommended that local authorities be vigilant in ensuring that under-served populations have access to information, prevention resources and care, out of concern that an epidemic could exacerbate social inequality in France.

What is the current risk?

In recent years, cases of dengue and chikungunya have increased in mainland France.

From May 1st to September 10th, France reported 1,372 imported cases (meaning they were contracted outside of mainland France) of dengue fever.

READ MORE: How serious is the threat from dengue fever in France?

Health authorities also reported 13 imported cases of chikungunya and three of (imported) Zika virus.

Imported mosquito-borne illnesses in France tend to involve people who recently visited the Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe – where the such diseases are endemic.

These islands are for administrative purposes part of France – so often show up in French health data – but they are roughly 7,000km away from Paris.

As for cases contracted in mainland France, local transmission remains rare.

In 2024, there have so far been 46 reported cases of locally transmitted (indigenous) dengue fever, according to Santé Publique France. There has been one case of ‘indigenous’ chikungunya so far in 2024.

In terms of location, the majority of these local infections have occurred in southern France.

Screenshot from Santé Publique France of a map of indigenous outbreaks of mosquito-borne illnesses in France.

In 2023, there were nine separate outbreaks of indigenous dengue transmission were identified, one of which occurred in the Paris region. These led to 45 cases of local transmission (in mainland France).

Until recently, researchers had been unable to identify contaminated mosquitoes, despite the presence of local transmission, but in 2023, researchers managed to trap tiger mosquitoes in the Drôme département who were carrying the virus. 

What steps can people take to stop the spread of tiger mosquitoes?

Anses noted that in addition to collective action and a response from health authorities, individuals can also take steps.

These include;

  • Regularly emptying outdoor bowls or receptacles filled with water in order to prevent them from becoming mosquito breeding areas
  • Covering rainwater collectors with mosquito netting
  • Protecting yourself by wearing long, loose-fitting, light-coloured clothing and by using insect repellent.

READ MORE: How to prevent the spread of tiger mosquitoes in France

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