PARIS:--- Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced Friday the renewal of confinement in France for two weeks from Tuesday, March 31st.

It was expected that the confinement would have been extended to April 15, it could be further extended a third time, said Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, Friday afternoon.

"With the agreement of the President of the Republic, I am announcing today the renewal of the confinement period for two additional weeks starting next Tuesday, that is until Wednesday, April 15" under the same conditions, he declared, after a Council of Ministers. "This period could obviously be extended if the health situation requires it".

France, confined for a few days, continues its measures to stop the epidemic. Confinement certainly led to continuing for several weeks. We take stock of the situation, the measures taken and the latest figures available in France on Thursday, March 26, there were 29,155 confirmed cases and 1,696 deaths in total.
In an exceptional speech Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced the renewal of confinement in France which continues for two weeks from Tuesday, that is until Wednesday, April 15 minimum with the continuation of current measures. Despite the recommendations of the Scientific Council, which recommends confinement for another 6 weeks, the government wishes to see the evolution of the pandemic in France before ruling on a prosecution.

BOCA RATON:--- As part of growing measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Cost-U-Less stores have commenced the installation of plexiglass shields in front of checkout counters.
“We have already installed plexiglass units in many locations and expect to complete installations in all stores shortly,” stated Dan McConnell, President, The North West Company International. “The valiant effort of our front-line staff is unprecedented as they work to provide essential food and services to our customers. We hope this added protection will enhance their safety,” added McConnell.
Our Cost-U-Less stores remain committed to ensuring a continuous supply of food and general merchandise to our stores.

Police Commissioner Gary Griffith has ordered the immediate closure of the Arouca Police Station after an officer, with a recent travel history, developed flu-like symptoms this week.

In a release today, Griffith said the officer left the country on March 4th, without the necessary approval and knowledge and went to St Maarten. In the meantime, the officer is awaiting testing.

He returned to Trinidad on March 7th and instead of going into self-quarantine, the officer returned to work the following day. When the officer developed the flu-like symptoms, Griffith said a decision was taken to close the station as a precautionary measure, following which all officers of the Arouca Police Station were ordered to go on self-quarantine.

As a result, the CoP said the Arouca Police Station will be temporarily closed and sanitization of the premises will begin today.

Griffith said persons wishing to make reports should do so at the following police stations:

· Arima Police Station, Broadway – 667-3563

· Maloney Police Station, Flamingo Boulevard – 646-6504

· Piarco Police Station, Golden Grove Road – 669-4366

· Tunapuna Police Station, Eastern Main Road – 645-7573

The CoP has assured that following the closure, there would be increased patrols in the Arouca District.

When the Arouca Police Station is reopened, Griffith said it will be manned by police officers from other stations.

AVENTURA, FLA. (WSVN) - - A Miami resident who was on the island of St. Maarten had to be flown to Miami International Airport and taken to the hospital in Aventura after he contracted the coronavirus while on vacation.

7Skyforce captured the 63-year-old man’s medical flight, operated by Jet Rescue Air Ambulance, arriving at the airport at around 9 p.m., Thursday.

“Our air ambulance company is one of the few that is equipped to provide aeromedical isolation transport,” company spokesperson Steven Shai Gold said. “This particular case is a member of our community.”

The company is based out of Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport.

Because of patient confidentiality, the name of the Miami man transported cannot be disclosed. According to Gold, time was of the essence to bring him back to South Florida for treatment.

“The patient is on vacation in a location that does not have the appropriate medical infrastructure to handle the risks associated with COVID-19,” Gold said. “Very rapidly, the situation started revolving from regular symptoms to troublesome symptoms and the patient being in a critical risk to his life.”

Jet Rescue Air Ambulance stabilized the 63-year-old prior to the nearly three-hour flight to MIA. After arriving at the airport, he was taken by ground to Aventura Hospital for immediate treatment.

For the crew onboard the aircraft, the working conditions are the same as working inside of a hospital’s intensive care unit.

“It’s the same risks, the same dangers, and similar approach,” Gold said. “All of our staff, including pilots, have to wear biohazard suits. It makes it very challenging to fly the aircraft, very challenging to treat the patient, who was both in an isolation chamber in a small area, and the staff is also dressed in this additional protective gear.”

Gold said the company has been prepared to help coronavirus patients.

“They know how to do it,” Gold said. “We have done it several times the last two or three weeks. There seems to be an increase in the need to transfer patients in critical care from locations that have no understanding or equipment to deal with the situation back to the U.S., where the hospitals are better prepared at this stage to deal with that.”

In the last three weeks, the company has had at least one flight a day from countries in the Caribbean and Latin America to South Florida. The service is not free, however, and travelers must have it included in their travel medical insurance.

7 News MIAMI.