Curfew at 6:00 p.m. during the week and, from now on, "a
lot of Playstation
" at weekends: to curb the Covid epidemic, Nice and Dunkirk inaugurated on Saturday a new variant of restrictions, the confinement of Saturdays and Sundays, which awaits 'other large cities and departments if the situation deteriorates.
Read also: Covid-19: these 20 departments under surveillance in metropolitan France
Prime Minister Jean Castex also asked the prefects of the 20 departments where the Covid-19 epidemic threatens to flare up on Saturday to strengthen the controls of the measures in force, including curfews, recalling that the objective is to “
Do everything to avoid national confinement
”.
In Nice, the emblematic Promenade des Anglais and the Jean-Médecin shopping avenue, almost deserted, gave the appearance of a ghost city to the fifth city of France and the inhabitants interviewed by AFP seemed resigned.
"
If we have to go through this so that we can have a little more freedom afterwards, why not?
“, Admits Frédérique Duval, 51, quickly came to get some fresh air on the seaside on this chilly morning.
"
Something must be done, it is increasing in the region
", also admits Charlie Kentish, an English cook of 56 years, installed for a long time on the French Riviera, and who is about to "
play a lot on the Playstation
" with her three boys aged 15 to 19.
1/7 - Two men bathe in the sea in Nice, on the French Riviera, as the first weekend of confinement has started.
VALERY HACHE / AFP
2/7 - The #IloveNice alone facing the sea. ERIC GAILLARD / REUTERS
3/7 - The famous blue chairs of the Prom desperately empty.
ERIC GAILLARD / REUTERS
4/7 - Near Place Masséna, the police carried out checks.
ERIC GAILLARD / REUTERS
5/7 - Police officers on bikes patrol the Promenade des Anglais.
VALERY HACHE / AFP
6/7 - A policeman controls a jogger.
VALERY HACHE / AFP
7/7 - The beach of Nice, deserted under the gray sky.
ERIC GAILLARD / REUTERS
On the entire coast of the Alpes-Maritimes and, at the other end of the country, in the entire urban community of Dunkirk, travel not justified by an exceptional reason is prohibited.
You must again bring a certificate to walk one hour, within a maximum radius of 5 km.
Only so-called essential shops will be open, which now include bookstores.
Read also: Bookstores, now considered essential businesses, may remain open in the event of confinement
In Bergues, near Dunkirk, four gendarmes were carrying out checks at midday in front of the town hall, noted an AFP journalist and about fifty gendarmes will be "
on the ground at the height of the checks
", said the commander. Franck Chacon.
For Francis de Smett, "
80 years old today
", and who came to pick up his birthday cake, "
these checks are very good
" and "
the arrangements should have been made much earlier
".
"Heightened surveillance"
The new local turn of the screw was decided after a strong rebound in the epidemic in these areas, which put hospitals under high tension.
At Dunkirk hospital, “
all the intensive care beds were occupied
” Thursday “
with 70% of Covid patients
” and “
more than sixty transfers of intensive care patients have already been organized in recent days
” to other hospitals region, announced the North Prefecture and the Regional Health Agency (ARS).
1/5 - Just like in Nice, Dunkirk beach was depopulated this Saturday.
FRANCOIS LO PRESTI / AFP
2/5 - Despite the day of confinement, a few people were walking, in groups or with their dogs.
FRANCOIS LO PRESTI / AFP
3/5 - In Bergues, near Dunkirk, the gendarmes checked the certificates.
FRANCOIS LO PRESTI / AFP
4/5 - In Bergues, near Dunkirk, the gendarmes checked the certificates.
FRANCOIS LO PRESTI / AFP
5/5 - A security guard checked the entries and exits of the Dunkirk market.
FRANCOIS LO PRESTI / AFP
Containment is in effect for at least two weekends in Nice and Dunkirk.
But other territories could follow next week, because the epidemic is gaining ground again, reinforced by the variants of the coronavirus, including the English variant, considered to be more contagious and which represented 49% of new cases of contamination during the week of February 15, according to Public Health France.
Read also: Covid-19: confined, Nice and Dunkirk under a bell until Monday morning
A meeting on Saturday morning by videoconference between Jean Castex, the ministers of Health and the Interior, the prefects of the 20 departments and the directors general of the regional health agencies of the areas affected by the rapid rise in indicators, was specifically intended to provide the framework for the consultations which will then be carried out with the elected representatives of these territories, covering in particular the Bouches-du-Rhône and the Rhône, as well as the eight departments of the Paris region.
