Lockdown returns as cases surge in Europe

Paris, October 30

The scenes in Paris resembled a regular lazy weekend morning — light traffic, a sprinkling of people on the sidewalks. But this was a Friday. What would normally have been a bustling weekday marked the start of a nationwide four-week government imposed lockdown in France to fight a resurgent Covid threatening to swamp the country’s health system.

People in the country of 67 million were confined to their homes as of Friday, for the second time in seven months, under a presidential decree ratified by Parliament.

Citizens have been ordered to stay at home at all times with no visitors, or risk steep fines or prosecution. They are allowed out for one hour of exercise a day, or for medical appointments or to shop for essential goods.

In Russia, there is a shortage of doctors as Covid cases surged past 18,000 to a record daily high, a report stated. — Agencies