Paris cafes to shut again

Officials feel the 'epidemic is moving too fast'

Paris: A second wave of the coronavirus in Europe has forced Paris to shutter its iconic cafes Monday as the US presidential race was in disarray after Donald Trump checked himself out of hospital after Covid-19 treatment.

France reported nearly 17,000 new coronavirus cases on Saturday alone, the highest daily number since the country began widespread testing.

Tuesday’s shuttering of bars and cafes — seen by many as the essence of Parisian life — were “braking measures because the epidemic is moving too fast,” Paris police chief Didier Lallemant told journalists, adding that restaurants will remain open provided they respect new safety measures.

These will include providing sanitising hand gel, limiting patrons to six a table with at least a meter (about a yard) between seats, and allowing diners to remove their masks only for eating.

“It’s not going to work for small restaurants,” said the owner of a tiny Paris eatery that also operates as a cafe and a bar. “Everybody is going have to crunch numbers: Is it worth staying open or not?” the owner, who gave his name only as Michel, told AFP.

Europe, which has recorded 235,553 deaths, is approaching a caseload of six million out of the more than 35.2 million cases officially diagnosed across the world.