France may have to impose new local restrictions to deal with the deteriorating Covid-19 situation as it scrambles to avoid a new national exclusion, a government spokesman said on Wednesday.
Infections have reached alarming levels in various parts of the country, spokesman Gabriel Attal told reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting.
The warning comes just days after the French Riviera had to be closed for the next two weekends to contain Covid-19, which has spread faster in the tourist hotspot than elsewhere in France, and border controls have been tightened.
Attal said similar moves may be needed elsewhere due to a deteriorating situation that he says “requires swift and strong action”.
Health Minister Olivier Veran said within hours of the warning that the city of Dunkirk in the north would also be closed on weekends, until further notice, after the infection rate there was more than 900 for 100,000 people, almost nine times the national average.
Just like on the Riviera, the 250,000 people in and around the city would only be allowed to leave their homes for specific authorized reasons, Veran said, calling Dunkirk’s infection rate “worrying.”
But the list could go further: about 10 of France’s 102 territories, known as departments, were now in a “very worrying situation”, Attal said.
“We must continue all our efforts to prevent the imposition of another national exclusion,” he said.
There was ‘obviously’ no certainty that such a drastic measure could be avoided, he said, warning that the government would not hesitate to order such a move if deemed necessary.
Prime Minister Jean Castex is hosting a news conference on Thursday to keep the country informed of the situation in Covid, Attal said.
burs / jh / gd