Springtime in Paris brings unseasonal Covid dangers

Germany has started demanding negative tests from people landing in the country

Two women picnic in the sun on the banks of the River Seine in Paris. AFP

French police are patrolling the River Seine looking for lockdown-breaking parties as the country struggles to loosen the pandemic’s grip.

Germany has introduced new restrictions on travellers flying into the country and Italy looks set to follow Berlin's lead.
The ripple effects are being felt across Europe after the German decision.

Epidemiologists warned France it needed to be tough, especially around Paris, where hospital intensive care beds are close to capacity.

But with spring arriving in Paris and a night-time curfew in place, the warm sun and rising temperature persuaded many to enjoy the river during the daytime.

People are not allowed to gather in groups larger than six and are asked to maintain physical distance and wear masks when outside, but there is no restriction on how long they can be outside during daylight hours.

Paris City Police superintendent Caroline Ducatillion said their role was more to educate people rather than fine them in an effort to limit the spread of the virus.

Google data shows residents in the capital, the centre of a fast-spreading third wave of infections, are spending only 20 per cent more time at home than during pre-crisis times, compared with 40 per cent during the strict three-month lockdown last spring.

The data reflects the tough reality confronting President Emmanuel Macron, who is considering another round of tighter lockdown measures but also wants to keep the economy open.

“We have to limit the spread of the virus and we won’t do that with these half-measures,” said Gilles Pialoux, head of infectious diseases at Tenon Hospital in Paris.

In the French capital, there are now more Covid-19 patients in intensive care units than at the peak of the second wave in November. Critical-care wards are operating at 140 per cent of normal bed capacity.

Across the country, the vaccination programme is only now hitting its stride, with about 12 per cent of the population inoculated after three months.

In Italy, Rome is likely to impose a five-day quarantine on travellers, both residents and foreigners, arriving from other EU countries, a health ministry source said.

Much of Italy remains under tight coronavirus restrictions as it battles a deadly third wave of infections, with the whole country facing a lockdown over the three-day Easter holiday.

German police have begun enforcing the new Covid testing regimen on travellers landing in the country, including citizens arriving home.

Travellers must now show their airline a negative test result conducted no more than 48 hours before their planned arrival in Germany.

Germany introduced the rule to combat soaring cases across the country.

In Spain, health centres and chemists were trying to keep up with the demand for tests from Germans on holiday.

“The process of getting a test appointment has cost us a day of our holiday and the test several hours. It’s all quite a hassle,” Andreas, a German tourist who did not give his last name, said at the airport in Mallorca.

If people test positive, they have to remain where they are under local quarantine rules, at their own expense.