PARIS (Reuters) – The city of Nice on the French Riviera will ban gatherings of more than 10 people in public spaces as it seeks to curb COVID-19 infections that are soaring in the region, local authorities said on Friday.
Bernard Gonzalez, prefect for the Alpes-Maritimes region, told a news conference that bars will be shut from 00h30 to 06h00 local time and the sale of take-away alcohol prohibited after 20h00.
Authorities are also lowering the ceiling for attendance at big public events to 1,000 people from 5,000 previously.
This comes as extra anti-COVID measures came into force on Monday in the cities of Marseille and Bordeaux. The measures included stricter rules for beach gatherings, visiting the elderly in care homes, and attending outdoor public events.
France registered a record 10,593 new confirmed coronavirus in the past 24 hours, health ministry data showed on Thursday, the country’s highest single-day count since the pandemic began.
(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Toby Chopra)
