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Macron closes schools for three weeks and extends travel restrictions to all of France

2021-03-31T19:40:26.426Z


The French president calls for a last "effort" with a view to being able to progressively reopen the country from May until the summer


French President Emmanuel Macron announced this Wednesday the closure of schools for three weeks, in an attempt to curb the coronavirus pandemic that according to health experts is in danger of running amok again, if it has not already done so.

In a formal speech from the Elysee, the president has also reported that the reinforced restrictions and the prohibition of travel between regions that had been in force for almost two weeks in the 19 departments most affected by the covid-19, including Paris, will be extended to the whole country starting this Saturday.

In exchange for these new “efforts” to a population depleted after a year of pandemic, Macron has offered, for the first time in many months, a window of hope: if the new “strategy” is fulfilled now, as of May it will be possible to begin to reopen, with restrictions, cultural spaces and terraces and draw up, until the summer, a “progressive opening calendar” of cafes, bars, restaurants and gyms, all closed, as well as cinemas, theaters or museums, from the end of October .

"If we stay united and in solidarity in the coming weeks, if we manage to organize ourselves in the next few weeks, we will see the end of the tunnel (...) I ask for the mobilization of all this April where we play a lot," said Macron in his first speech dedicated exclusively to the health crisis since the end of November.

The closing of schools will be done taking advantage of the Easter holidays, to disturb the school year as little as possible.

"The school is not negotiable, education is not negotiable," insisted the president, who until now had refused to take this step, described as a "last resort" in one of the few countries that has kept schools open since September. , like Spain.

As explained, next week all classes will be done remotely.

Starting April 11, students from all over France will start a two-week vacation.

On April 26, kindergartens and elementary schools will reopen.

High school students will continue with distance courses for another week before returning to class on May 3, explained Macron, for whom this "is the most adapted solution to curb the virus."

In addition, the president has decided to extend to the entire country the restrictions that already weigh in 19 departments, including Paris and its surroundings, since March 20, a kind of "hybrid" confinement that limits movements, although much less than in the two lockdowns in 2020.

From April 3 to May 2, "non-essential" businesses will be closed - about 150,000, according to the Government - and interregional travel will be prohibited, although in view of the Easter weekend there will be a certain margin until 5th of April.

In addition, the French may only travel a maximum of ten kilometers from their home, although without a time limit or need for proof.

As Macron explained, the curfew will also be maintained from 7:00 p.m.

The doubt about how far Macron would go to stop the new wave of coronavirus planned until the last moment, although the progression - nothing positive - of the data suggested that an adjustment of the strategy was required.

About 100,000 deaths from covid

France is approaching the psychological barrier of 100,000 deaths, while still failing to lower other key figures: the seven-day national incidence rate is 377 per 100,000 inhabitants (712.2 to 14 days; in Spain, it is 152.25).

In departments such as those on the Parisian periphery of Seine-Saint-Denis and Val d'Oise, the most affected, they even shot up to 783 and 813, respectively.

The occupancy of beds in intensive care is nationally at 98.4%, and in some areas the initial capacity of before the pandemic has already been exceeded.

On Monday, France surpassed the second wave peak in ICU bed occupancy - 4,974, up from 4,903 last fall.

A day later, the figure climbed to 5,072.

The pressure had been growing in recent days for Macron to take a turn at the helm despite the fact that, less than a week ago, he still affirmed - and did so again this Wednesday - that he was "right" when he decided not to order a new one. confinement at the end of January, when many experts were already warning of the critical situation as of March.

Numerous medical officials warned in recent days through the press that the country was approaching a "catastrophic situation" in which a "selection of patients" will have to be carried out due to the lack of beds, an extreme that the Government has denied , at the same time that it has promised to expand the capacity of the hospitals.

Source: elparis

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