Nightclubs in France will be ordered to close for four weeks starting this weekend to counter surging Covid-19 cases that have seen hospitals announce emergency protocols as beds fill up, prime minister Jean Castex said on Monday., reports FRANCE 24.
Stricter social distancing and extended use of face masks will also be required in schools as France faces a fifth wave of virus cases, said Castex, who himself just emerged from quarantine last week after contracting the virus.
"We have all had a tendency to lower our guard" in recent weeks, he said.
But the government held off on imposing stricter measures for the general population or the non-vaccinated in particular, as several other countries have done in recent days.
Instead Castex urged businesses to encourage working from home and called on people to "lift the pedal" on social interactions such as office parties as the year-end holidays approach.