In front of the “unprecedented crisis“of the coronavirus, the French government authorized the establishment on Wednesday of a”state of health emergency“, provided for in one of the bills presented Wednesday in the Council of Ministers and which also contain aid to fight the economic shock. The coronavirus caused 89 new deaths in 24 hours in France and 3626 patients are now hospitalized, including 931 in intensive care according to a report communicated Wednesday evening by the Ministry of Health.
Concretely, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe will be able to take by decree “general measures limiting the freedom to come and go, the freedom to conduct business and the freedom of assembly and making it possible to requisition all goods and services necessary to fight against the health disaster“, details the text. This obviously concerns protective masks while France has known”logistical difficulties“in the supply, recognized government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye, who also denounced”inadmissible thefts“of masks in hospitals.
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An amending finance bill was also presented which takes into account the emergency measures announced a week ago in the face of the shock, including compensation for short-time working.
Secretary of State for the Interior Laurent Nuñez said on Wednesday that the curfew was “not considered“by the government to curb the spread of coronavirus.
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