France’s prime minister Edouard Philippe on Tuesday outlined plans to gradually relax the country’s coronavirus lockdown, in force since March 17, in order to avert the risk of economic “collapse”, reports the Financial Times.
Businesses could reopen from May 11, except cafés, restaurants and large meeting places such as big museums and cinemas, although teleworking should be continued wherever possible for at least the first three weeks, he said.
Local public transport will be largely restored, with the Paris metro and buses set to run at 70 per cent of normal capacity, although the plan is to avoid rush-hour crowding by encouraging companies to stagger working hours.
Passengers will be required to wear face masks. Long-distance travel will remain restricted to those on urgent professional or family business. Schools will reopen progressively, starting with nursery and primary schools and with attendance depending on agreement from parents, and class sizes will be limited to 15.
However, the ending of the lockdown would vary from place to place, Mr Philippe said. Departments would be labelled “red” or “green” on May 7 for the proposed easing of restrictions four days later depending on the local number of new cases as well as on the capacity for testing and receiving patients in hospital.