Paris bans daytime jogging to curb the spread of Coronavirus

Paris officials said today, April 7, that they will ban lone daytime jogging as people continue to flout Coronavirus lockdown rules, after France recorded its highest daily death toll.

Under nationwide confinement rules that came into force on March 17, people can leave their homes only for essential purposes, which had included a solo walk or run within one kilometre of their homes.

However, as the weather improved in recent times, large groups of Parisians have been seen running, walking and congregating in groups, even as police issued fines for lockdown violations and hospitals struggled to cope with the influx of patients.

On Tuesday, as France entered its fourth week of lockdown, Paris toughened the confinement rules, announcing a ban on individual outdoor sports between the hours of 10:00 am and 07:00 pm starting Wednesday, April 8.

The move came just after Health Minister Olivier Veran announced Monday a record daily coronavirus death toll of 833 people in 24 hours.

Announcing the new measures for Paris, Mayor Anne Hidalgo and the capital’s police chief Didier Lallement said in a statement that “every excursion avoided aids the fight against the epidemic”.

Also, on Monday, April 6, the mayor of Sceaux, a commune south of Paris, issued a decree obliging all residents over the age of 10 to cover their mouth and nose when leaving the home starting on Wednesday, April 8.

Those who do not have surgical masks must wear a homemade alternative or tie a scarf or bandanna around their face, otherwise they could be fined 38 euros ($41).

In a radio interview earlier on Tuesday, Hidalgo said she was not making masks obligatory although she did encourage everyone to cover their faces and noses.