France expands closure, and there is no room in hospitals

Hundreds of thousands of people in northern France recovered from the lockdown on Saturday, as health officials stepped up a nationwide vaccination campaign to make up for the delay after a slow start.

The inhabitants of Pas-de-Calais on the north coast have joined those of the regional port of Dunkirk and the seaside resort of Nice on the Mediterranean, already closed on Saturday and Sunday.

That puts more than 2 million people across France under the restrictions of a weekend lockdown as they must stay home if they are unable to provide a written waiver.

Hospitals are the last

With hospital capacity reaching nearly 90% in Pas-de-Calais, the district governor insisted the new restrictions were necessary to avoid any burden on local health services.

And local officials said two-thirds of the recently recorded cases were of the deadliest type, first discovered in Britain.

But with curfews imposed mainly from 6 a.m. to 6 a.m. and unnecessary shops closed, the new restrictions will hurt businesses under stress.

According to the latest figures from Saturday, the Corona virus has killed 88,300 people across France.

The government is trying to step up the vaccination campaign to give a first dose to 10 million people in mid-April, 20 million in mid-May and 30 million in the summer.

But so far, less than 3.4 million people in France have received at least one dose of the vaccine, compared to over 22 million in Britain.