New York's mayor is seeking to reimpose shutdowns in nine Covid-19 hotspot districts in a bid to prevent the whole city being hit by a second wave.
The measures would see about 300 schools close across nine postcode areas in Brooklyn and Queens from Wednesday, while indoor dining would be suspended just days after it resumed.
Mayor Bill de Blasio said he was taking the action, which has to be approved by state politicians, in an attempt to prevent a repeat of the first wave that killed more than 24,000 New Yorkers in the spring.
“We’ve learned over and over from this disease that it is important to act aggressively, and when the data tells us it’s time for even the toughest and most rigorous actions, we follow the data, we follow the science,” he said.
Nearly 1,100 people have tested positive in Brooklyn in the last four days.
New York’s restaurants were allowed to resume indoor dining from September 30, albeit at only 25 per cent of their seating capacity.
In France, the bars of Paris will have to shut for at least two weeks from tomorrow as the capital is placed on maximum Covid-19 alert.
It had been feared that restaurants would also have to shut but they will be allowed to stay open provided they put in place new safety protocols.
France yesterday reported 12,565 new cases, while 893 patients have been admitted into intensive care over the past week.
