Amid the ongoing disregard for Coronavirus lockdown guidelines and following France’s highest daily death toll, Paris authorities announced the banning of solitary daytime jogging.
According to the nationwide confinement regulations imposed on March 17, individuals were allowed to venture out for essential activities, such as a solitary walk or run within a one-kilometer radius of their residences.
However, with the recent improvement in weather, numerous Parisians have been observed gathering in large groups for activities like running and walking, despite law enforcement issuing fines for violating the lockdown orders and hospitals struggling to manage the surge in patients.
On Tuesday, marking the commencement of the fourth week of lockdown in France, Paris reinforced the confinement measures by prohibiting outdoor individual sports between 10:00 am and 07:00 pm, effective from Wednesday, April 8.
The decision was made following Health Minister Olivier Veran’s announcement on Monday of a record daily coronavirus death toll of 833 individuals within 24 hours.
Mayor Anne Hidalgo and the capital’s police chief Didier Lallement justified the new measures for Paris in a statement, emphasizing that “each avoided outing contributes to the battle against the epidemic.”
In addition, the mayor of Sceaux, a commune south of Paris, decreed that all residents over the age of 10 must cover their mouth and nose when leaving their homes, with non-compliance resulting in a fine of 38 euros ($41).
Mayor Hidalgo mentioned in a radio interview on Tuesday that while she was not enforcing the obligatory use of masks, she encouraged everyone to cover their faces and noses.