Ahead of 2nd COVID lockdown, 700km traffic jams in Paris as citizens flee for countryside

People in Paris fleeing for the countryside created massive traffic jams on the road. This happened just ahead of the lockdown in France which has been imposed to battle the spread of the coronavirus. According to a tally by the Johns Hopkins University, France has a total of 1,331,884 cases with 36,565 fatalities. French President Emmanuel Macron announced at a press conference that the COVID-19 restrictions will remain in force until December at least. As per reports, the French leader also added that it is not possible to eradicate the COVID-19 virus by chance or through ‘herd immunity’.

Read: French President Emmanuel Macron Announces COVID-19 Restrictions To Last Till December

(Tourists wearing protective masks walk on Republique square in Paris, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020. Image Credits: AP)

(Basque Ertzaintza police officers control cars at French-Spanish border in Behobia, Spain, Friday, Oct. 30, 2020. Image Credits: AP)

France imposes a lockdown again

All the citizens in France have been strictly ordered to stay at home at all times with no visitors. Prime Minister Jean Castex explained firmly that “Going to friends’ houses, having friends over and moving around for anything other than the reasons set out” will be impossible. Experts have speculated that the real number of people infected in France is higher than official figures due to the absence of testing during the early stages and the presence of asymptomatic cases. About 42 percent of all the ICU beds in France are currently occupied while that percentage rises up to 64 percent for the French capital of Paris, as per reports.

Read: COVID-19: India To Help Bangladesh, Myanmar In Developing And Testing Coronavirus Vaccine

During the press conference, the French President said, "We will be accessing the effectiveness of the made decisions ... At least until the beginning of December, everything that was announced by the government will remain in place. These measures -- I can say this to your for sure -- will not be reduced and they may even be reinforced if we find them not effective enough”. Macron went on to add that based on scientific data, people will have to learn to with COVID-19 until the summer of 2021 in the best-case scenario. At present, France is experiencing a sharp increase in new COVID-19 cases and recently became the second country in Europe to cross 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases after Spain.

Read: Belgium Announces Lockdown To Contain Second Wave Of Coronavirus

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(Image Credits: Unsplash)