French President Emmanuel Macron has announced the closure of schools for at least three weeks as part of new nationwide measures to combat a rise in infections in the country. Starting next week, students will switch to distance learning. The strict lockdown already in place in 19 French departments is extended to the entire country. Starting Saturday, all shops will be closed for four weeks, except those selling essential goods. A ban on traveling more than 10 kilometers from home without a valid reason will also be introduced. The healthcare system in France is experiencing an influx of patients: there are already more than 5,000 people in intensive care units. On Wednesday, according to the French Ministry of Health, over 59 thousand new infections were registered, the total number of cases exceeded 4.6 million, and 95,495 people died from the coronavirus.
The French healthcare system is once again on the verge of collapse. In his direct televised address on Wednesday, Macron described the situation in the country as very fragile and stressed that April could be a turning point. “If we don’t act now, the situation will spiral out of control,” he said. According to the president, there is a race between vaccination on the one hand and attempts to slow the spread of the infection on the other. “Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine,” the president wrote on Twitter. In announcing the closure of schools as of next week, Macron inadvertently mentioned that the children of essential workers will still be able to attend classes. He also noted that the measures previously implemented in 19 departments of France, including the closure of all non-essential businesses and services, the prohibition of travel to other regions of the country, as well as travel beyond 10 kilometers from home without valid reasons, will be extended to the entire territory of the country. “Everyone should limit contact with each other,” the president said, adding that over the Easter weekend, people will be allowed to choose where they want to spend the rest of the lockdown. Macron announced that if all these measures are followed, people will soon see the light at the end of the tunnel. The measures announced by Macron must now be discussed in parliament, where they will be voted on Thursday. Germany tightens border controls with France, doctors warn that the third wave could be worse than the first two, the EU has not yet blocked vaccine exports, the US provides financial aid to the Palestinians: the most important news about the coronavirus pandemic worldwide – in our daily review.