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Post by Admin on Oct 20, 2020 5:44:19 GMT
French police have raided the homes of senior government and health officials as part of an investigation into their handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Health Minister Olivier Véran and the director of the national health agency, Jérôme Salomon, are among those whose properties were searched on Thursday. The raids came after a court launched an inquiry earlier this year into the government's handling of the pandemic. It has faced criticism over shortages of equipment and slow response times. Prime Minister Jean Castex is also under investigation, French media report, as is his predecessor Edouard Philippe and Mr Véran's predecessor Agnès Buzyn. The prime minister and Mr Véran have been at the forefront of France's new policy of imposing night-time curfews in nine cities, including Paris, from Saturday, which will be enforced by 12,000 police. "This means at 21:00 everyone must be at home and, without exception, every place, business or public service open to the public will be shut," Mr Castex said on Thursday.
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Post by Admin on Oct 26, 2020 8:22:33 GMT
Spain and France each surpassed 1 million cumulative confirmed cases last week, becoming the sixth and seventh countries to do so globally. Italy, Germany, Belgium, the Czech Republic and the United Kingdom are also experiencing record numbers — threatening to overwhelm countries' abilities to test, trace and contain the virus. Polish President Andrzej Duda tested positive for the virus over the weekend, as cases have doubled there in recent weeks.
Europe's infection rate has been rising for over 90 days, according to European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. As authorities and experts worry that the situation in Europe may soon spin out of control, governments are imposing curfews and social restrictions in an attempt to avoid full-scale lockdowns that could hurt the economy and dim the upcoming holiday season.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared a national state of emergency on Sunday, which included a nighttime curfew and possible travel restrictions between regions. Italy also announced new measures to curb the virus, the harshest since its lockdown in the spring, when the country was the global epicenter of the pandemic.
U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced a move to a "high" alert level for London and other cities as of Oct. 17, banning residents from mixing with people from other households indoors and restricting outdoor gatherings to six people or fewer.
Last week, Ireland became the first country in Europe to reimpose a lockdown in the face of soaring cases.
Wales began a 17-day lockdown this weekend, shuttering all nonessential businesses and requiring people to remain home, with few exceptions. "If we do this now and if we then have a consistent set of national rules, to keep the transmission and the intensity of the virus at a lower level, then we can have a much more normal Christmas season for businesses," Vaughan Gething, the Welsh health minister, told BBC Radio Wales.
France has become the worst-hit country in Europe's second wave, with over 40,000 new cases every day the past few days. Nightly curfews have been in place in several cities since mid-October, and this weekend, multiple new curfews were enacted, bringing the total number of people affected to around 46 million, or about two-thirds of France's population.
"The second wave is here," said Prime Minister Jean Castex at a press conference when the new restrictions were announced. "The situation is grave."
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Post by Admin on Oct 29, 2020 0:58:42 GMT
France will enter a new coronavirus lockdown on Friday until at least December 1. French President Emmanuel Macron announced the new restrictions in a speech from the Elysee palace after an emergency meeting. It came shortly after neighboring Germany announced a new lockdown. New restrictions People can only leave home to go to work, to go to school, for a medical appointment, to give assistance to loved ones, for essential shopping or for one hour of physical exercise People will need to show documentation when leaving the house Travel between regions is banned Bars, restaurants and nonessential businesses will be closed Work must be done remotely wherever possible Universities and higher education will mostly be taught online International borders will remain largely closed What is allowed Schools will remain open Essential businesses will remain open Most public services will remain open Factories, farms and construction sites can continue work EU borders will remain open French citizens can return from overseas Retirement homes can accept visits Funerals are still possible The rules apply to all of France, but there will be an exception for the upcoming All Saint's holiday weekend. Authorities will reassess the situation in 15 days. French Prime Minister Jean Castex will announce further details on Thursday, just before the lockdown goes into effect. "We were all surprised by the acceleration of the epidemic. We must remain united and in solidarity and not give in to the poison of division. This is a difficult time, but it is a sign of who we are, women and men who are bound together," Macron said.
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