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French PM urges people to limit gatherings at home as Covid cases rise Covid in Europe: second wave gathers pace across continent
(about 3 hours later)
Jean Castex warns country’s battle against coronavirus will last for several months more France may impose new lockdowns as Italy plans ban on private parties
The French prime minister has called on people to limit gatherings in their homes as he warned the country’s battle against coronavirus would last for several months more. France has said it may be forced to impose new lockdowns, Italy is expected to ban private parties and Czech businesses are demanding state support to ease the impact of tough new restrictions as Europe’s Covid-19 second wave continues to gather pace.
Jean Castex said the government could not police people’s behaviour in their own properties but urged the French public to “respect the protection measures” at home . The French prime minister, Jean Castex, on Monday called on people to limit gatherings in their homes, saying the country’s recent surge in new infections was placing its hospital system under increasing strain. President Emmanuel Macron is due to address the nation about possible further action to tackle the coronavirus on Wednesday.
“I cannot regulate things in private spaces. It is not legally possible, we are the country of public freedoms and it is not possible under our constitution. I ask people, I keep asking … the only people who can introduce regulations in private spaces are the people themselves,” Castex said. “If over the next two weeks we see the indicators worsen, if intensive care beds fill up even more than we expect, we will indeed take additional measures,” Castex said, adding: “Nothing can be ruled out given what we’re seeing in our hospitals.”
“We are engaged in battle against a virus, it’s not finished, it will last several months more, I think. He reiterated that “it should be possible” to avoid a second nationwide lockdown, but said the virus would be here “for several more months” and urged the French public to “respect protection measures” at home. “The only people who can regulate private spaces are the people themselves,” he said.
“What we have to avoid are people glued to each other, not wearing a mask, in enclosed spaces. I ask them to respect the protection measures in private places as they do in public places.” Too many people were failing to appreciate that “the second wave is here”, the prime minister added, noting that two more cities, Toulouse and Montpellier, were placed on maximum alert late on Sunday – bringing the total to nine.
Asked if families could meet elderly relatives during the upcoming school holidays, he said: “Of course, but by being careful and following protection measures.” In particular, he pointed to Paris and its suburbs, where agents carried out 500 checks over the weekend to ensure bars were closed as ordered and restaurants were ensuring social distancing measures, resulting in 95 fines.
Sunday evening’s figures for the previous 24 hours in France showed a further 16,101 confirmed Covid-19 cases. This followed a record high of nearly 28,000 cases announced on Saturday. There were an additional 46 deaths in the previous 24 hours attributed to Covid-19 on Sunday, but this figure is likely to be an underestimate due to slow reporting of data at weekends. The national health agency reported a record of nearly 27,000 new daily virus cases on Saturday, followed by more than 16,000 on Sunday. The percentage of positive tests also rose to 11.5%, double the rate of three weeks ago.
The percentage of positive tests also rose to 11.5%, double the rate three weeks ago. The director of the Paris region health authority, Aurélien Rousseau, said on Monday that the percentage of positive tests in and around the capital had risen to 17% and was spreading particularly quickly among young adults. The director of the Paris regional health authority, Aurélien Rousseau, said the percentage of positive tests in and around the French capital had risen even further, to 17%, and the virus was spreading particularly quickly among young adults.
France’s health ministry says the authorities have been carrying out about 1m Covid-19 tests a week since September and the number of positive cases has risen higher than the increase in testing. Castex acknowledged that the government’s homegrown StopCovid tracing app had been ineffective, with only 2.6m downloads since June, but said the government was working on a new version to be released on 22 October.
The incidence level per 100,000 people among the 20-30 age group had risen to 800, compared with 506 two weeks ago. The alert level is set at 50 per 100,000 people. Italy, meanwhile, is planning to ban private parties and limit the numbers of guests at weddings and funerals among new restrictions aimed at curbing a surge in coronavirus infections, according to a draft decree seen by Reuters.
Castex said local lockdowns were envisaged if the situation worsened but a general nationwide lockdown could not be ruled out. “We are in a difficult situation. The reality of the second wave is here. We all have to mobilise to face it and we mustn’t lower our guard,” he said. The decree, which could be issued as early as Monday, bars people from hosting more than 10 guests in their homes or in any other private premises and also states that no more than 10 guests will be allowed at weddings and no more than 15 at funerals.
“We will take measures depending on the situation with the epidemic. If in 15 days we see that the health situation is seriously worsening, that the intensive care beds are under pressure, we could take additional measures.” Italy exceeded 5,000 new Covid-19 cases in a single day on Friday for the first time since March and daily infections remained above that level on both Saturday and Sunday. Covid-related deaths are much lower, normally below 30 compared with peaks above 900 a day at the peak of the pandemic.
Castex was speaking as two more cities, Toulouse and Montpellier, were declared zones of “maximum alert” with increased restrictions including the shutting of bars, health clubs, gyms and swimming pools. In Rome, four Swiss Guards – who provide ceremonial guard duty and help protect 83-year-old Pope Francis – tested positive on Monday, the Vatican said. They are in isolation while their contacts are being traced.
Castex said the French had lowered their guard during the long summer holidays after the strict two-month lockdown was lifted. In the Czech Republic, businesses, arts establishments and sports facilities have demanded state support after the government announced new restrictions expected to do further economic harm, including the closure of theatres, cinemas and sport and fitness centres. Restaurants and pubs must shut by 8pm.
“We could not remain locked down for longer. We ended the lockdown in an efficient way, I think,” he said. The health ministry reported 59,920 active Covid-19 cases on Monday, with a daily record of 8,615 new infections reported on Friday. Hospital admissions over the past week have nearly doubled, forcing some to reduce non-urgent care.
“Then the holidays arrived and the French collectively thought it was over, behind them. Me, I didn’t think that … I didn’t take a holiday and, as I kept saying, the virus wasn’t taking a holiday either. But the French thought the virus had disappeared a little too quickly,” Castex told France Info radio. Moscow began enforcing measures to keep a third of office workers at home, as Russia continues to report record numbers of new cases. The capital’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said this week would be “decisive” in the capital’s fight against the virus.
He said a new version of the contact-tracing app StopCovid, which has had little take-up in France, would be released later this month. The app has been downloaded only about 3m times. The prime minister said it had not had the “necessary response”. Last month, Castex and several other government ministers admitted they had not downloaded StopCovid. “There are more and more people in hospitals, and the number of people in a very serious condition is increasing,” he said at the weekend, but insisted that a Russia-produced vaccine would be ready for “mass rollout” in the coming months.
Moscow imposed a strict lockdown in the spring but relaxed measures in June. On Monday it reported more than 13,000 new cases, bringing its total number of infections to about 1.3 million, with about 22,000 deaths registered.
More than 10,000 people have taken part in tests for Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine, the news agency Interfax reported. The president, Vladimir Putin, announced in August that the vaccine had been approved and was safe for use before it had passed the final stage of trials.
Outside Europe, Iran shattered its single-day record for new deaths and infections for the second day in a row, with 272 people confirmed dead and more than 4,200 new cases.
Recently reopened universities and schools, as well as libraries, mosques, cinemas, museums and beauty salons in the hardest-hit areas, have been ordered to close again, while since Saturday masks have been mandatory outdoors and in public places across Tehran, on pain of a fine.