PARIS will be plunged into a four-week lockdown from midnight tomorrow as a third wave of Covid hits France's capital.
The country's prime minister Jean Castex announced a month-long lockdown tonight for 16 regions in France as the EU vaccine shambles continues.
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Schools will remain open and the measures will be less strict than in previous nationwide lockdowns, Castex said.
Castex said essential goods shops, including bookstores, will remain open and outdoor activities will be allowed in a 10 km radius.
But inter-regional travel will be banned and non-essential shops will be forced to shut.
"We are adopting a third way, a way that should allow braking (of the epidemic) without locking (people) up," Castex told reporters.
The nationwide curfew will also be moved back by an hour to 7pm.
He said the measures are needed as Covid cases continue to soar in the country, with some 1,200 people in intensive care in the Paris region alone.
Health Minister Olivier Veran said there were more people in intensive care in the Paris region than during the second wave in November.
The other regions affected by the new measures include the Hauts-de-France region of northeast France, which covers the city of Lille.
The lockdown announcement comes as France is set to resume vaccinating people against Covid with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Castex said he will receive the vaccine on Friday afternoon.
More to follow…
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