Daytime exercise has been banned in Paris in a bid to slow the spread of coronavirus.
People won't be able to exercise in the French capital between 10am and 7pm as of tomorrow (Wednesday).
Mayor Anne Hidalgo and city police chief Didier Lallement outlined the rules in a joint press release which argued that 'every excursion avoided aids the fight against the epidemic'.
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Paris' deputy mayor, Emmanuel Gregoire, went on to clarify that the rule doesn't apply to people taking children or dogs out for short walks.
He said: "Feedback from our services and the police from on the ground is clear and consistent. There are too many people out at the same time and too many joggers at peak times. Nothing is perfect: the aim is to limit risks by limiting overcrowding rather than a general ban.
"We are banning jogging during the day, not leaving the house. Children must, exceptionally, be able to leave the home a little during the day, the same for animals. The objective is to avoid peaks [of joggers] at the end of the morning and in the afternoon."
France has one of the highest death tolls in the world (more than 8,900 at the time of writing) and has been under strict lockdown measures for almost a month, with anyone who goes outside required to carry a document stating one of the following reasons: shopping for necessities, visiting a doctor, or exercising within 1km of their address.
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Hundreds of thousands of people have been fined for breaking these rules and Mayor Hidalgo said 'any form of relaxation would jeopardise the collective efforts made so far'.
On Sunday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock warned that all outdoor exercise could be banned in the UK if people continue to flout the rules.
He said: "I understand how difficult these measures are, of course I do. But the truth is the more people go out from home, the more the virus spreads.
"We've said because of the positive benefits to your physical and your mental health that it's OK to exercise on your own or with members of your own household.
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"But if the result of that is that too many people go out and flout the other rules because they say, 'Well, if I can exercise, then it's fine for me to do other things,' then I'm afraid we will have to take action.
"My message is really clear - if you don't want us to have to take the step to ban exercise of all forms outside of your own home then you've got to follow the rules."
It's okay to not panic. LADbible and UNILAD's aim with our Coronavirus campaign, Cutting Through, is to provide our community with facts and stories from the people who are either qualified to comment or have experienced first-hand the situation we're facing. For more information from the World Health Organisation on Coronavirus, click here.
Topics: World News, Coronavirus, France
