Covid-19: France set to ease lockdown

Bloomberg

France will lay out its plan to roll back lockdown measures, joining countries including Germany, Italy and the Netherlands in easing restrictions as the economic pain from the fallout of the coronavirus intensifies.
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe was expected to unveil final details of his plan to end curbs on public life on Thursday. The country is preparing to go back to work and reopen schools starting on Monday in a gradual process designed to avoid a second wave of infections.
Despite more than 140,000 deaths on the continent, European leaders are feeling the heat to accelerate a return to normality and are trying to walk a fine line between reactivating the economy and avoiding a renewed outbreak.
France’s end-of-lockdown plan will be progressive and differentiated. Local situations will be constantly monitored, with remote work remaining a priority. Some schools could remain closed until fall due to difficulties in implementing social distancing and sanitary measures. Public transportation, notably in the Paris region, is also a major concern.
The UK is set to ease parts of its nationwide lockdown on Monday, with more freedom for people to leave their homes, but companies warned continued social distancing will hurt any economic recovery. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he wants to start relaxing some measures next week “if we possibly can,” and will make a full statement on his plans on Sunday.
Germany declared the first stage of the fight against the pandemic over and is preparing to open restaurants, hotels and all shops as well as to restart professional soccer games.
Although many lockdown measures are being gradually phased out, social-distancing rules were extended until at least June 5. To contain hot spots, a threshold on local infection rates was set up and restrictions will be reinstated if an area records more than 50 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in a week.
Germany’s main concern is travel ramping up again, which could make the spread difficult to control, according to Helge Braun, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff.
“We are not living after the pandemic but in the middle of a pandemic,” Braun said on Thursday on Deutschlandfunk radio. “We hope that we can keep the numbers very low, even if we’re returning to a somewhat more normal life.”