The French Government is studying the extension of the state of emergency in the country until February 16, 2021, with some restrictions that may continue until April, due to the covid-19, said the executive today.
At a press conference, French Government spokesman Gabriel Attal said that at today’s meeting of the Council of Ministers it was decided to submit to Parliament a document to extend the state of emergency until 16 February next year, when new measures may be taken.
The French National Assembly will meet exceptionally on Saturday and Sunday to review the bill, which will then go to the Senate.
The state of emergency came into force in France on Saturday for a period of at least a month.
“Just as from the beginning of the pandemic, we will make decisions adapting to the evolution of the disease”, said Attal, adding that the text includes the idea that restrictions on circulation and meetings, as well as the early closure of trade, may continue. until April of the same year.
The French government spokesman admitted that several departments in the country could go on high alert in the coming days, which will join in the curfew already imposed in the Paris region and in the cities of Lyon, Lille, Grenoble, Rouen, Montpellier, Saint- Étienne, Toulouse and Marseille.
Among the new cities that may have curfews are Strasbourg, Clemond-Ferrand and Nimes, where the incidence rate of covid-19 reached 322 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex and Health Minister Olivier Véran will be on Thursday at the weekly presentation of the epidemic situation in the country to announce the implementation of the new measures.
France reported 185 deaths and 20,468 new infections with the new coronavirus, which causes covid-19 disease, bringing the cumulative number of cases since the beginning of the epidemic to 930,745 and the number of deaths to 33,885 people.
The covid-19 pandemic has already claimed more than 1.1 million deaths and more than 40.8 million cases of infection worldwide, according to a report made by the French agency AFP.
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