Despite the opposition of local elected officials, the prefect of Bouches-du-Rhône confirmed on Saturday that the curfew in the department would be brought forward to 6 p.m. from Sunday.
A decision partly justified by the discovery of a cluster of carriers of the British variant of the virus causing Covid-19.
In this cluster detected "in the department with a strain of the variant from the United Kingdom", out of 46 contact persons, 21 tested positive, writes the prefect Christophe Mirmand in a press release.
An incidence rate greater than 225 per 100,000 inhabitants
Overall, the situation remains "particularly worrying" in the Bouches-du-Rhône, with an incidence rate of over 225 per 100,000 inhabitants, adds the prefect.
It is therefore the entire Provence-Alpes-Côte D'Azur region that will be under early curfew, the Vaucluse and the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence having announced a passage under curfew at 6:00 p.m. Sunday and the Var from Tuesday, which is already the case in the Alpes-Maritimes and Hautes-Alpes.
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Curfew at 6 p.m.: the map of the new departments concerned
Friday evening, elected officials of Bouches-du-Rhône from all sides had vigorously opposed this measure denouncing a "vertical" decision and questioning its usefulness.