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It’s a weekend like no other that begins for the French. As the country enters its fifth day of containment, the epidemic caused by the coronavirus continues to spread. The latest report, given Friday evening, reports 450 deaths, or 78 deaths in 24 hours, and 12,612 cases in the country. Follow the situation live.
Information to remember:
- The French live their first weekend of confinement which should last “four to six weeks”
- The death toll in France is 450 dead, or 78 new deaths on Friday, and 12,612 confirmed cases
- Many public places are closed in several cities and controls are tightened
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The French confined … For several more weeks
While the French live their first weekend day on Saturday without permission to go out unless there is an exceptional reason, Jean-François Delfraissy, immunologist and president of the Scientific Council, explains on Europe 1 that the confinement should last “at least four to six weeks”. “I think the confinement will continue […] the facts are there to be it, “he says. He guarantees that the method works.” We have the example of China, but also of the first cities in Lombardy (in Italy, editor’s note), where contamination has been reduced, “he recalls.
Friday evening, the Secretary of State to the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, said on France 2 that “renewal is absolutely not excluded”.
Reinforced checks this weekend
The containment of the population will be imposed with more force this weekend, warned the authorities on Friday. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner announced checks at stations (only 15% of mainline trains will run) and airports in particular, and fines of 135 euros in the event of “violation of the prohibitions on traveling outside one’s home” .
Several French cities have also closed arteries usually very busy: the Promenade des Anglais in Nice; the waterways on the banks, the lawns of the Esplanade des invalides and the Champ-de-Mars in Paris; the quays in Bordeaux; all the green spaces in the Bas-Rhin; as well as the beaches.
The military field hospital is deployed in Mulhouse
These beds thus join some 117 beds, including 40 for intensive care, already made available throughout France for patients in five military hospitals. Poorly equipped with protective equipment, medical professionals are in great distress all over France. Invited Saturday on Europe 1, Guillaume Quercy, president of the UNA-National Union of the Aid, Care and Services in the Homes, reminds in particular the primordial role of the auxiliaries of life near the elderly and in situation of handicap.
Colombia enters containment, Belgium closes its borders
In total, according to an AFP count made on Friday evening, the pandemic has killed more than 11,000 people worldwide and more than 250,000 cases have been identified. The latest country to enter containment: Colombia, from Tuesday until April 13. Europe continues to be hit hard, with half of the deaths. The death toll in Italy even surpassed the 4,000 mark on Friday, including 627 in the past 24 hours.
For its part, Belgium has announced the closure of its borders, except for freight or an “essential” reason. In addition, the British government has ordered the closure of pubs, restaurants, cinemas, gyms and theaters, further strengthening its control measures.
The European Union suspends its rules on budgetary discipline
The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen announced Friday the suspension of the rules of budgetary discipline of the European Union, a new measure which will allow the member states to spend as much as necessary to fight against the economic consequences of the coronavirus.
Economic measures have also been taken in France, since Parliament has definitively adopted the financial aspect of emergency measures in the face of the coronavirus epidemic. A text that anticipates a heavy impact of the coronavirus on the French economy, with a recession of 1% of GDP and a public deficit of 3.9% of GDP in 2020.
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