PARIS (AP) — Two more French cities have joined Paris and Marseille and four others in the maximum alert status to fight back the coronavirus, surgical strikes with strict new measures to stop the spread of infections. The prefecture of Montpellier, in the south, announced a maximum alert status for the city and surrounding towns starting Tuesday. Measures include the closing of cafes and bars. The major southwest city of Toulouse was doing likewise, the Toulouse newspaper La Depeche reported Sunday. Soaring infections and increased hospitalizations put four other cities on the list Saturday: Lyon, Grenoble and Saint-Etienne in the southeast and Lille in the north.
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ASSOCIATED PRESS
People walk front of a closed cafe in Lille, northern France, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2020. French authorities have placed Lille on maximum virus alert on Monday, banning festive gatherings and requiring all bars to close but allowing restaurants to remain open, as numbers of infections are rapidly increasing. (AP Photo/Michel Spingler)
Posted at 7:13 AM, Oct 11, 2020
and last updated 2020-10-11 16:49:48-04
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