Emmanuel Macron, President of France ordered a nighttime curfew in Paris and other cities in the country in order to contain the spread of the Covid19 cases. Macron said that the residents of the cities would not be allowed to go outside from 9:00 pm to 6:00 am from Saturday onwards for a duration of at least four weeks.  Specific restrictions were placed for partying which carries the highest risk of virus transmission. Grenoble, Lille, Marseille, Montpellier, Rouen, Saint-Etienne and Toulouse were the other cities mentioned by Macron in his address about the nighttime curfew. People would be allowed to move outside only for essential reasons. As a measure of deterrence, anyone found outside during the night-time curfew without special authorization would be made to face a fine of 135 Euros.

Meanwhile in North America, Chair and President of ACCESS Health International, William Haseltine had stated that the people who are suggesting the US President about the herd immunity are posing a grave risk to the public health safety. Haseltine equated the herd-immunity with mass murder.

These developments surface as the European continent is facing the second wave of the Coronavirus disease. As per the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the daily case numbers in the EU is showing an increasing trend.

The nighttime curfew order comes close on heels with the EU Ministers of Foreign Affairs reaching an agreement in Luxembourg to use the European Commission’s report on coordinated travel measures in Europe. Among the report’s suggestions the countries in the EU would be given colour based segregation which would identify the risk levels for Covid19.

Shortly before the announcement by Macron, the French government had moved to reinstate a public health state of emergency to order to curb the spread of the Covid19 infections. In the minutes from the cabinet meeting held recently, it was stated that the country was facing a health catastrophe.

Angela Merkel, Chancellor of France’s neighbour Germany, specifically urged the young people to restrain themselves from partying as was similarly stated by Macron in his televised speech. Ireland recently moved three counties- Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan located on its open borders with Northern Ireland to Level-4 of its five step framework of Covid19 constraints and has banned almost all visits to the country.

Recent research has found out that infection of Covid19 gives antibody mediated protection to the individual for at least five-seven months which can be a sign of hope. But, most experts agree that the herd immunity would be a bad idea to chase right now.

As the world still grapples with the pandemic with an available effective vaccine still far away, European countries like France are bracing themselves for the impacts of the second wave of the Covid19.