Two weeks ago French President Emmanuel Macron announced certain areas of France will be subjected to a nightly curfew starting at midnight on Saturday, October 17 and be in place daily from 9:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. for the next four weeks. That curfew included Disneyland Paris. Two weeks into the curfew and cases are still rising.

Today, Mr. Macron announced he was shutting down the entire country for a second time starting on Friday, October 30. He said that people would only be allowed to leave their houses for essential work, medical reasons, or to use their daily one-hour allocation of exercise.

According to BBC News, “Non-essential businesses, such as restaurants and bars, will close, but schools and factories will remain open.”

Included in the shutdown is Disneyland Paris. This is the second time the French theme park has shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was first closed back in March and remained closed until mid-July. Disneyland Paris will close end of day on Thursday, October 29, one day before the rest of the country. At this time, Disneyland Paris said the park will remain closed but in anticipation of the holiday season (and the French Government lifting the shutdown order), they will accept reservations for stays beginning 19 December 2020 through 3 January 2021.

In a statement, the Disney said “Disneyland Paris will be closed from January 4 through February 12 [2021].

The Walt Disney Company and Disneyland Paris have yet to make an official statement, but that is expected to come soon.

Julia Sieger, France 24 Health Editor, stated that the virus has been “out of control since the end of August.” She went on to say that they have also become the “country in Europe with the most diagnosed cases of COVID-19” and the fifth country worldwide. Additional it was reported that France has over 50,000 new cases per day and it is believed that number is underestimated as it does not include asymptomatic people and those who do not get tested.

“The virus is circulating at a speed that not even the most pessimistic forecasts had anticipated,” Macron said in his address. He said that the country was being “overwhelmed by a second wave that no doubt will be harder than the first”. “If in two weeks, we have the situation under better control, we will be able to re-evaluate things and hopefully open some businesses, in particular for the Christmas holiday,” he added.

Feature Image: BBC News/screenshot