According to the French President, Emmanuel Macron, who was speaking in a speech broadcast on television, a “brutal stop in contagions” is necessary to prevent the collapse of hospitals.
The new confinement, which will run until at least December 1, will start Friday, but schools will remain open for now.
The new measures in France provide for the closure of bars and restaurants during the period of the new confinement.
In Europe, only Wales (United Kingdom) and Ireland have once again confined their entire population before Wednesday’s announcement by French President Emmanuel Macron.
To try to deal with a second wave of the covid-19 disease (caused by the new coronavirus SARS-Cov-2), the nearly five million Irish people were the first in Europe to enter this new period of confinement last Thursday.
The measure was enacted for a period of six weeks.
The nearly three million Welshmen, however, went into confinement the following day (last Friday) and will have to stay at home as long as possible for about two weeks, that is, until 9 November.
However, unlike the confinement enacted last spring, schools remain open.
On a smaller scale, about 150 thousand inhabitants of three municipalities in the north of Portugal (Lousada, Felgueiras and Paços de Ferreira) also entered last Friday in a “semi” confinement.
In Germany, the authorities today decreed the partial closure, from Monday and for four weeks, of restaurants, bars, theaters, sports, cultural and leisure facilities, but without moving towards a reconfiguration of the population.
Citizens are asked to avoid unnecessary travel.
Schools will remain open, as will all stores, but with stricter rules.
Outside Europe, and in recent months, new periods of confinement have been enacted in countries like Israel and Lebanon, in cities like Auckland (New Zealand) and Melbourne (Australia), or in large areas in the Philippines.
If the total population refurbishment is still a minority option in Europe, curfew measures are increasing.
Before confining again, France imposed this measure on October 17, from 9:00 pm to 6:00 am, in the country’s cities most affected by the new coronavirus. A week later, the measure would be extended to two thirds of the French population.
Spain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia, Slovakia and the Czech Republic also decreed national nighttime curfews, while in Italy and Greece the measure only covers large cities or specific regions.
This measure is often presented as a last resort to avoid further total population confinement.
It is usually accompanied by other restriction measures that are applied during the day, such as, for example, the obligation to wear an individual protection mask, the closure of bars and cultural places and the imposition of limits for gatherings of people.
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