Advertisement

Weekend lockdown begins in Nice, French Riviera and Dunkirk

The Local France
The Local France - [email protected]
Weekend lockdown begins in Nice, French Riviera and Dunkirk
French Health Minister Olivier Veran (R) and French Junior Minister of Autonomy Brigitte Bourguignon (C) visit the emergency and intensive care units of the Hospital Centre in Dunkerque, northern France, on February 24, 2021. (Photo by Denis CHARLET / POOL / AFP)

From Saturday, the northern city of Dunkirk, along with Nice and the French Riviera, is subject to a weekend lockdown after a spike in Covid numbers.

Advertisement

Health Minister Olivier Véran announced a new weekend lockdown for a Dunkirk on a trip to the northern port town on Wednesday.

"The epidemic is worsening across the country," Véran said.

Infections have reached worrying levels in several parts of the country, spokesman Gabriel Attal told reporters earlier on Wednesday after a weekly cabinet meeting.

The warning came only days after the French Riviera was ordered into lockdown for the coming two weekends to contain Covid-19 which has been spreading faster in the tourist hotspot than elsewhere in France, and border controls were tightened.

Attal said similar moves could become necessary elsewhere because of "a worsening situation" that he said "requires rapid and strong measures".

The northern coastal city of Dunkirk was expected to be on the list for fresh restrictions after the infection rate there went over 900 for 100,000 people, close to nine times the national average.

READ ALSO Regional lockdowns - where next and will they work?

Advertisement

Around 10 of France's 101 départements were in a "very worrying situation", Attal said.

He did not name the départements, but the ones with the highest incidence rate currently are; Alpes Maritimes, Bouches-du-Rhône, Moselle, Nord, Oise, Pas-de-Calais, Paris, Seine-et-Marne, Somme, Var, Essonne, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne.

 

All these départements have an infection rate higher than 250 per 100,000 inhabitants.

"We must continue all our efforts to avoid having to impose another national lockdown," he said.

There was "obviously" no certainty that such a drastic measure could be avoided, he said, warning that the government would not hesitate to order such a move if it was deemed necessary.

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also