France has become the latest nation to limit spectators at football matches with new Covid rules announced on Monday limiting outdoor gatherings to just 5,000 people.
The French Prime Minster Jean Castex has moved in response to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, which has affected much of Europe and coincided with multiple outbreaks of Covid – especially among Premier League sides in England.
The new measures from Monday, for at least the next three weeks, will limit all public gatherings to 2,000 people for indoor events and 5,000 for outdoor events.
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Although the strain appears milder than previous variants, officials in France have warned that hospitals face being overwhelmed following a record 100,000 positive test results being reported on Saturday.
The numbers are the highest daily levels in France since the start of the pandemic nearly two years ago.
It follows similar measures taken in Germany where 15,000 fans are now restricted to Bundesliga matches following rules brought in earlier in December.
Scotland have been even tighter on restrictions where football grounds have been limited to just 500 supporters to attend matches from Boxing Day.
Celtic fans clashed with police on in an attempt to watch their side’s clash against St Johnstone at the McDiarmid Stadium in Perth.
Supporters outside the ground brought green flares and unveiled banners reading, ‘F**k the SNP’ as they attempted to storm the ground.
Meanwhile, despite talks on Monday, Boris Johnson has ruled out any immediate restrictions in England – leaving Premier League grounds remaining at full capacity.
Confirming England would be going it alone in its decision to hold fire on hitting the panic button, Sajid Javid declared: ‘There will be no further measures before the New Year.’ He told Sky News: ‘It’s for each country that makes up the UK to decide how it wants to go forward.’
But the Health Secretary still dangled the threat of tightening restrictions in 2022 to bring England in line with the rest of the home nations, urging revellers to ‘remain cautious’.
Official coronavirus statistics appeared to justify No10’s reluctance to resort to economically-crippling curbs, with the number of cases recorded in England having fallen every day since Christmas.
Monday’s confirmed infections were up just 7 per cent in a week to 98,515 but the figures were for England only, and did not represent Britain’s situation as a whole.
Scotland’s cases spiralled to record highs during the festive break but the tallies won’t be included in the UK-wide update until Wednesday, at the same time as Northern Ireland. Wales’ tolls for over Christmas are set to be logged officially on Tuesday. (AF)
