Eiffel Tower needs blowtorch for ice as snow blankets Europe
PARIS – Workers at the Eiffel Tower used a blowtorch to melt the ice collecting on its surfaces while snow was blocking roads and halting trains and school buses Wednesday across northern France.
Amid a European cold snap, areas in Normandy and Brittany unused to such icy conditions were closing highways for lack of snow-clearing equipment. In parts of the Paris region, local authorities halted school buses and urged parents to keep their children at home.
COLUMBUS – Ohio is expected to lift its overnight curfew, allowing residents to visit restaurants and bars after 11 p.m. again.
Gov. Mike Dewine promised to eliminate the curfew, currently between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m., if the number of COVID-19 patients in Ohio’s hospitals remained below 2,500 for seven consecutive days.
That number dropped below 2,500 on Feb. 2 and has remained under that threshold over the past week, according to Ohio Hospital Association data.
On Wednesday, there were 1,922 COVID-19 patients in Ohio hospitals, including 508 in intensive care units.
The current health order is set to expire at noon today.
A Dewine spokesman said he couldn’t yet confirm whether the order would be lifted.
The curfew, which started Nov. 19, initially lasted 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Two weeks ago, Dewine reduced it to 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. It had exceptions for emergencies, obtaining medication or groceries and other essential activities.
The curfew was a compromise between Dewine and business leaders when the Republican governor was considering closing in-person dining, bars and fitness centers amid a spike in COVID-19 cases.
Because Ohio’s 10 p.m. last-call order expired in November, bars and restaurants could serve customers in-person until either 1 a.m. or 2:30 a.m. after the curfew is lifted.
Did the curfew help reduce spread of COVID-19 in Ohio? That’s difficult to say.
The number of people hospitalized because of COVID-19 rose to its peak of more than 5,300 patients in mid-december while the curfew was in place. But that number also dropped below 2,000 patients Sunday.
Dewine’s goal was to limit the spread of COVID-19 for several hours when late-night drinking might cloud otherwise safety-focused judgments.
It’s impossible to calculate how many Ohioans did not contract COVID-19 because they stayed home during New Year’s Eve or Monday Night
Football.
Dewine has promised to reimpose the curfew if COVID-19 patients fill Ohio’s hospitals again.
“We very well could be by March into a very, very difficult and very different situation in Ohio,” Dewine said. “If that’s true, we’ll have to do what we have to do to slow this down.”
But for now “we’re clearly moving in the right direction,” he said.