PARIS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 30th October, 2020) The French government's decision to reintroduce a nationwide lockdown in order to curb the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic will force 200,000 businesses to temporarily close, the French minister of the economy and finance, Bruno Le Maire, said on Thursday.
"The quarantine measures are a heavy blow for all companies that have to close. I am talking, in particular, about the 200,000 enterprises that will have to close from tomorrow," the minister said at a press conference.
An additional 6 billion Euros ($7 billion) will be allocated to a so-called solidarity fund to provide support to businesses and their workers, Le Maire stated, adding that the government has earmarked a total of 15 billion euros in financial support for the month-long quarantine.
The new lockdown measures, which will enter into effect from Friday, were announced by French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday. Non-essential businesses will close, and people will only be allowed to leave their homes for work or medical reasons under the new measures, which will remain in force until December 1.
On the eve of the lockdown, public health officials in France registered 47,637 new cases of COVID-19 over the preceding 24 hours, a significant rise from the 36,437 new positive tests registered on Wednesday.
Since the start of the pandemic, more than 1.2 million cases of the coronavirus disease have been reported in France, and the country's death toll stands at 36,020.
