PARIS (AP) — The French government has backed off from ordering a tough lockdown for Paris and several other regions despite an increasingly alarming situation at hospitals with a rise in the number of COVID-19 patients. Instead, it announced a patchwork of new restrictions Thursday while reducing the national curfew by one hour. Getting large doses of fresh air is being encouraged, meaning that people living in the Paris region and in the north of the country can walk as long as they like in a day, but within a 10-kilometer (6-mile) radius of their homes and with a paper authorizing the stroll. Stores, however, will feel the pinch with a new rule closing down all non-essential shops. Schools remain open.
