Paris.
French people have been warned to stop kissing one another in a bid to control the coronavirus epidemic.
Health minister Olivier Veran urged people to avoid doing ‘la Bise’, the practice of kissing someone on both cheeks, to greet them or say goodbye.
He told a media briefing at the Elysee Palace in Paris yesterday: ‘The reduction in social contacts of a physical nature is advised. That includes the practice of the bise. The virus is circulating in our territory and we must now slow down it spread.’
Today the world-famous Louvre Museum in the French capital closed its doors to help prevent the spread of the virus. So far there have been 73 record cases in France, including two deaths and 59 people still in hospital. A 60-year-old French man died in Paris on Wednesday, while an 80-year-old Chinese tourist died in France on Valentine’s Day.
The Louvre put out a tweet to say they were closing the museum after a discussion with health officials and apologised to potential visitors.
Staff at the biggest art museum in the world said they were worried about picking up the disease from foreign visitors.
‘The risk is very, very, very great,’ said Andre Sacristin, a trade union spokesman for the 2,000-plus Louvre workforce.
‘We are very worried because we have visitors from everywhere,’ said Mr Sacristin, who added that it was ‘only a question of time’ before staff were infected. It follows Mr Véran’s decision to introduce a ban on crowds of 5,000 people or more in ‘enclosed spaces’.
The vague definition of an ‘enclosed space’ immediately led to the Paris half-Marathon, a number of carnivals, and other events across France being halted. But football matches at elite stadiums were allowed to go ahead, despite attracting 45,000 plus people.
Many of these stadiums – including the Stade de France and Parc des Princes in Paris – have hospitality and retail areas that are fully enclosed.
Shopping centres in Paris such as the Westfield Forum des Halles in the centre of the city are also mostly enclosed and attract crowds of well over 5,000 every day.
The French government has also conceded that it will find it hard to monitor kisses in personal lives, but professional bodies have already started issuing advice to workers.
At Saica Pack, a cardboard manufacturer in Laval, south west of Paris, a memorandum has gone out saying ‘do not kiss or shake hands’, instead advising people to ‘say hello as a greeting.’
‘This is common sense,’ said company spokesman Aurélie Lecomte. ‘When someone is sick, they naturally no longer kiss or shake hands with colleagues to limit the risk.
