Paris again closing bars as infections rise

Paris will once again close its bars Tuesday after coronavirus cases have spiked in the French capital.

Paris Police Chief Didier Lallement said that bars would shutter for the next two weeks, along with swimming pools, according to the BBC. Restaurants, he said, will be allowed to remain open as long as they follow hygiene guidelines.

“These are braking measures because the epidemic is moving too fast,” Lallement said in a Monday press conference.

“These measures, indispensable in the fight to curb the virus’ spread, will apply to Paris and the three departments immediately surrounding it, for a duration of two weeks,” Prime Minister Jean Castex’s office said.

The nation reported 12,565 new cases of the virus Sunday. The country has raised its alert level to its highest level, which occurs when a locality’s infection rate rises above 250 per 100,000 people and coronavirus cases comprise 30 percent or more of intensive care beds.

Parisian restaurants, including those that serve alcohol, will only be allowed to remain open if they keep track of all customers’ contact information and close their doors by 10 p.m.

The announcement comes just over a week after the city of Marseille shuttered restaurants, gyms and bars for two weeks. The city also ordered other public venues, such as movie theaters and museums, to impose strict mitigation measures in order to stay open.

After several months of falling infections, France has seen what health ministers called an “exponential” increase in the rate of infection since August. Close to 17,000 cases were reported Saturday, according to the BBC.

The French government is concentrating on areas with the highest concentrations of the virus as an alternative to re-imposing nationwide lockdown measures. Paris-area health officials say the wider region has more than 200 active clusters of the virus.