Coronavirus: France to shut cafes, restaurants and cinemas
- Health official announces the death toll from Covid-19 has risen by 12 over the last day in France to 91, with the total number of infected standing at 4,500
France on Saturday drastically stepped up its measures against the spread of the coronavirus, announcing the closure of all non-essential public places including restaurants and cafes.
“I have decided on the closure until further notice from midnight of places that receive the public that are non-essential to the life of the country,” Prime Minister Edouard Philippe told reporters.
“This includes notably cafes, restaurants, cinemas and discos.”
Top health official Jerome Salomon meanwhile announced that the death toll from Covid-19 had risen by 12 over the last day in France to 91, with the total number of infected standing at 4,500.
Salomon added that France was from now at its highest sanitary alert level of stage three, which means that the virus is now circulating actively across French territory.
He added that the number of those infected had doubled over the last 72 hours.