PARIS (Reuters) – French police cleared the banks of the Seine River in central Paris on Saturday due to concerns that people were getting too close and did not respect the rules of social distancing of the coronavirus.
Hundreds of people were asked to leave the area – popular for walks and picnics on sunny days – and police closed the riverbank for the rest of the day.
“The rules of social distancing are not respected,” the police called through a megaphone.
Police have been cleaning the area regularly for the past few weeks, with warmer weather, bringing people to enjoy the sun before a cleaning nest starts between 6pm and 6am.
Paris police banned alcohol consumption on the river on Friday and urged people to limit their gatherings.
The government resisted putting the capital and the surrounding area back under blockade, despite the increase in the number of coronavirus cases and the growing number of patients in the capital’s intensive care units.
The country reported 23,306 new cases confirmed by COVID-19 on Saturday, down slightly from 23,507 on Friday. There were 170 new deaths, reaching 88,444.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Jean Castex pledged to speed up the launch of the vaccine, including over the weekend, in two dozen high-risk areas to prevent further restrictions, following criticism of slow progress in vaccination in the country.
“This Saturday, at 17:30, 220,000 French people were vaccinated, more than twice as many as last Saturday. We continue tomorrow “, said the Minister of Health Oliver Veran on Twitter.
As of Saturday, 3.581 million people have received a first jab in France.
Reporting by Michel Rose; Written by John Irish; Edited by Frances Kerry and Christina Fincher