Macron Announces Curfew to Help Curb Covid 19

French President Emmanuel Macron announced a 9pm curfew for Paris and other big cities following a surge in corona virus cases and an increase in ICU patients.

“We have to act. We need to put a brake on the spread of the virus,” Macron said in a televised appearance on Wednesday.

A 9pm-6am curfew will be enforced in Paris, Lyon, Lille, Rouen, Saint-Etienne, Toulouse, Grenoble, Aix and Montpellier for four weeks.

The decision comes following an uptick in new infections across the country.

On Wednesday, the number of new recorded corona virus infections were 22,591 in 24 hours, and 104 deaths, according to Le Figaro. The number is down from Saturday’s record of 26,896 new cases of infections.

Macron addressed the nation by stating: “We have not lost control. We are in a situation which is worrying and which justifies that we are neither inactive nor in panic."

Last week, France shuttered Parisian bars in an effort to quell rising numbers in Paris and its surrounding suburbs. And, other major cities began maximum virus alert over the weekend.

The country, like most, has begun to experience a resurgence in infections months after coronavirus became a global pandemic. Last week, in response to rising numbers in the Paris region’s ICUs, Aurelien Rousseau, tweeted that he ordered hospital directors to activate a special emergency plan to free up resources and protect medical staff.

With a vaccine still in the works, the French president anticipates dealing with the virus until 2021.

According to The Guardian, Macron said new daily coronavirus cases must be brought down to “3,000 or 5,000”, which hit a record high on Saturday. “We won’t be leaving the restaurant after 9pm,” said Macron. “We won’t be partying with friends because we know that that’s where the contamination risk is greatest.”