France is planning to impose a curfew of 6 p.m. in French cities and departments where coronavirus infection rates are surging rapidly, French health minister Olivier Véran said Tuesday, reports Politico.
"We are going to propose an extension of the curfew, from 8 p.m. to 6 p.m., in the departments where the incidence rate would be above the national level," Véran said on France 2 TV.
France ended its second national lockdown this year on December 15 but still enforces an 8 p.m. curfew.
The health minister said an official decision to implement the earlier curfew would be made during a public consultation in the coming days, and could apply starting January 2 for an indefinite period. Some 20 departments could be affected by the new curfew, according to Le Monde.
"We've been on a plateau for the past three weeks, with an average of 15,000 infections per day," Véran said.