Rabat – French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced France will begin to ease its COVID-19 restrictions starting Monday, April 26.
Primary schools will open countrywide on Monday. However, regions with more cases of the virus will limit classes to 50% in-person capacity for the remainder of the school year.
The night curfew is to remain in place from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. even though “the third wave of the disease is behind us,” stated the prime minister.
Government officials also expect open-air seating at restaurants and bars to be available by mid-May while also phasing cafes, museums, and movie theaters into the reopening plan.
Additionally, Government Spokesman Gabriel Attal announced the end of COVID-19 related travel restrictions within France on May 3. Currently, citizens must remain within a 10 kilometer radius of their residence.
Quarantine rules will remain in place for travelers entering the country and the fine for breaching quarantine is €1,500 (MAD 16,128).
Upon arrival, travelers must quarantine for 10 days and are only permitted to leave the specified quarantine residence from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. daily. Police will be checking for compliance.
Travelers from India, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and South Africa traveling to France must have a negative PCR 36 hours prior to departure or 72 hours prior to departure with an additional negative rapid antigen test 24 hours before departure.
Seven-point-five percent of the population is fully vaccinated and 19.8%, or nearly 13 million people, received the first jab. French President Emmanuel Macron expects 20 million residents to receive the first dose of the vaccine by mid-May.
France has recorded approximately 102,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic.
Experts expect other countries to follow suit in a gradual reopening as global vaccination campaigns continue to thrive and the summer tourist season approaches.
