Corsica to limit publics gathering to 10 with rising coronavirus cases

By Shweta Desai

PARIS (AA) - The French island of Corsica said Wednesday that it will impose a ban on gatherings of 10 or more people in public and other restrictions because of rising coronavirus cases.

The top official in the Haute-Corse department, Francois Ravier, announced the new restrictions at a news conference.

They include prohibiting gatherings of more than 10 people on beaches, parks and public roads, a ban on village fairs and festivals, fireworks and a French sporting competition called petanque.

Hotels, cafes and restaurants can function until 1 a.m. and masks wearing outdoors will be compulsory for adults and minors.

Gatherings of more than 50 such as religious ceremonies, baptisms, weddings, birthday parties, musical and dance parties at campsites or other public or private establishments must be registered with authorities 72 hours in advance.

The restrictions on the island that is a favorite summer destination for tourists will be enforced starting Aug. 5 and comes during the French holiday season as thousands flock to the island.

Several tourist hotspots on the French mainland have also reimposed masks wearing outdoors and in crowded places.

One day before the announcement, regional authorities in Corsica activated a plan to cope with the accelerating health crisis by pausing certain health sections except for emergency cases to free up additional capacities.

Ravier said the virus is actively circulating among younger people and authorities are overwhelmed with the rising cases. The occupancy rate of one of two hospitals on the island is 80%.

Corsica currently has a high number of cases involving the Delta variant with an incidence rate of 650 cases of infections per 1,000,000 inhabitants.