So for the first October COVID-19 update in Paris: today the announcement we’ve been waiting for (and dreading) came. As of tomorrow, bars and cafés will close for at least two weeks in Paris. It feels like a pretty big morale blow as I’m sure it’s just the beginning of closings due to the second wave of COVID-19.
October COVID-19 Update in Paris
Starting tomorrow and lasting for at least two weeks:
- Bars and cafés will close
- Gyms and pools will stay closed (except for school activities)
- Public gatherings limited to 10 people
- Open-air sporting and cultural events limited to 1,000 people
- Expos and conferences prohibited
- University lecture halls no more than half-full
- Weddings and parties prohibited
- Alcohol sales after 10PM prohibited
- Restaurants can stay open with stricter guidelines in place: hand-sanitizer at each table, chairs one meter apart, six people maximum at each table, and masks only removed when eating.
There’s no denying the numbers are very concerning. On Saturday brought almost 17,000 new confirmed cases in France. I understand the need to close bars because people are exempt from wearing masks while drinking and it’s harder to enforce distancing. However, it’s a little hard to imagine how closing cafés while allowing restaurants to stay open is going to help things.
I’m telling myself at least it isn’t another total lockdown. For now. But I can’t help but imagine that things will again get much worse before they get any better. It’s a tough pill to swallow, but we all have to continue to make sacrifices to protect each other.
Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin said something on Sunday that sums up how I’m feeling (even though I’m not French).
We are French. We love to drink, to eat, to live, to smile and to kiss each other.
I’m a glass half-full type of person, so I’m trying to keep all of those things at the top of my mind as goals. I’m hopeful that things will be infinitely better in 2021. But for now I’m thinking it might finally be time to invest in a coffee maker at home.
For more France COVID-19 updates, France24 is a good resource in English.