Lunchtime News Monday 3rd August 2020

Local 

Young man shot dead on A7 motorway - A young man has been shot dead and his brother has been wounded in the early hours of this morning as they travelled between Aix-en-Provence and Marseille on the A7 motorway.

The victim, aged 19, was fatally shot in the chest and face. Police have launched an investigation as to whether the shooting was related to drug trafficking, if so it would be the ninth person to die due to drug trafficking since the start of the year in the Bouches-du-Rhône.

Sea rescue services in Marseille - Sunday marked a dramatic day for sea rescue services off the coast of Marseille after a sixty-year-old was reported missing, a teenager has been left in a coma and a 25-year-old man is in a critical condition.

The first incident occurred at midday on Sunday when a 27-year-old woman was swept away by a wave. The group of four friends had jumped into the sea from rocks in the Calanque Mont-rose area. The young woman was saved but one of the friends remains in a critical condition in hospital.

The second incident occurred at around 6 p.m when a family perched on a Zodiac were thrown into the sea. According to reports, a 15-year-old teenager, for a reason which still remains to be determined, got his leg stuck in the propeller and a 65-year-old man is still missing following the incident.

Masks - Faced with the deteriorating health situation, some mayors have announced measures to counter the spread of Covid-19. In addition to the national obligation to wear a mask in closed places open to the public, several municipalities have announced that the wearing of a mask will be compulsory at various times in their city centres or in high-traffic areas.

While Nice has introduced the mask in certain outdoor areas the center of Biarritz, the ramparts of St-Malo or the banks of the Loire in Orléans will now be accessible only if you wear a mask. In Lille, the mask is now compulsory in several areas of the city. Four departments - Mayenne, Finistère, Côtes-d'Armor and Jura - have also implemented similar measures in several dozen of their municipalities.

Heatwave to return - After a cooler weekend, the hot weather is expected to make a comeback by the middle of this week.

Météo France has warned that temperatures are set to rise again particularly in the South-West, with up to 37 degrees in Biarritz, 36 in Bordeaux and Toulouse.

On Friday, temperatures could rise to 39 degrees in places in the South. The new episode could see up to 68 departments across France subject to water restrictions.

Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez is to go ahead – It’s been confirmed that Les Voiles de Saint- Tropez is set to go ahead. The two-week, end-of-season event will take place with new restrictions in place on land due to the health crisis.

Presidential couple treat themselves to Pizza in Cavalière - French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte currently on holiday at Fort Brégançon in the Var have been spotted at a local pizzeria in the nearby town of Cavalière. The presidential couple were spotted on Sunday treating themselves to a pizza in "all simplicity". Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron dined in the restaurant Les Sirènes, an address that the couple know well and are particularly fond of since stopping there last year.

At the end of the meal, the couple participated in the traditional photo alongside the owners of the establishment and staff.

National

Cluster cases of Covid-19 in France - Since the end of lockdown 531 clusters of Covid-19 have been detected in France according to the authorities. While most of them have been brought under control, nearly 150 are still active today.

While the number of serious cases of Covid-19 continues to decrease in France, the circulation of the virus nevertheless remains "sustained" according to the Directorate General of Health.

A cluster is defined by the occurrence of at least three confirmed or probable cases, in a period of 7 days, within a community or during a gathering and in recent weeks, the number of clusters has increased at a "sustained" rate according to Public Health France.

There are currently 147 under investigation in the country. The department most affected is Mayenne, with at least 15 identified clusters. Follow by the North (12 clusters) and the Bouches-du Rhône (8 clusters).

Authorities say they are concerned not by the current number of clusters but their multiplication.

Among the 147 outbreaks currently under investigation, 38 come from private and public companies. The figures mentioned do not take into account the 115 clusters detected in Ehpads since deconfinement. Among these outbreaks, only 6 are currently under investigation. "As of July 29, the weekly number of new clusters (in nursing homes) remains low" underlines Public Health France.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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