As restrictions have already been partially loosened, people in France were able to make use of the long Ascension weekend to make short trips across the country. As of Wednesday, the curfew will now be moved back from seven to nine o’clock in the evening. It is expected that this will allow many public businesses to welcome guests once again.
Cinemas, which have been closed since 30 October, can reopen at 35% capacity during the initial phase. If the infection numbers remain stable, the limit will be raised to 65% on 9 June, and dropped altogether by the end of the same month. Museums, theatres, open-air zoos, libraries, and small business will be subjected to similar procedures.
When it comes to bars and restaurants, they are still only allowed to open their terraces. They cannot go over 50% capacity and have no more than six people sit at one table at a time. Comparable to the situation in the Grand Duchy, many establishments remain sceptical of the procedures and whether it will be sufficiently lucrative for them to reopen their doors.
The next phase, which will allow restaurants to have people dine inside again, is expected to be launched on 9 June. The curfew will accordingly be moved back to eleven o’clock in the evening. This progressive reopening will however be tied to the epidemiological situation and the advancement of the national vaccination campaign.
As of Saturday, more than 20 million French people have received the initial jab of a Covid-19 vaccine, while 8.8 million have already been administered the second dose (13.1% of the country’s total population, or 16.8% of the adult population). France hopes to have 30 million people vaccinated by mid June.
To help accelerate the vaccination process, people above the age of 18 may now register to get a left-over dose at the end of the day. The campaign is further expected open to all remaining adults by 15 June.
For now, France’s epidemiological situation looks promising. The number of patients in intensive care units is continuously decreasing, while the general infection numbers are also going down.
Nevertheless, government officials remain on edge given that the situation may still turn around. President Emmanuel Macron has already announced that “emergency breaks” can be activated in departments that record incidence rates of 400 new infections per 100,000 citizens over a period of seven days.
The possibility of localised lockdown measures thus remains in place, as has, for instance, been the case in French Guiana since Friday. Furthermore, travel restrictions from infection hotspots, such as India, will continuously be monitored. So far, 24 cases of Indian coronavirus variants have been recorded in France.
