France eases lockdown restrictions; shops, markets to reopen on May 11
Story highlights
The country has been on lockdown for the past six weeks even as authorities called for 'progressive and controlled easing of the confinement'
As France moved to ease restrictions on the lockdown, French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe said that work from home should continue when lockdown lifts on May 11.
French shops, markets can reopen May 11, but not restaurants and bars, Philippe asserted.
The French premier said face masks will be mandatory in public transport.
"We will have to learn to live with the virus," Philippe said while informing Parliament that home confinement had helped brake the epidemic and prevented thousands of more deaths.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said schools will resume classes only gradually.
French professional sports leagues including football and rugby cannot restart before September, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe added.
France is one of the hardest hit due to the coronavirus in Europe with 23, 293 deaths and 166,036 infected cases, according to Johns Hopkins coronavirus virus resource centre's live tracker.
The country has been on lockdown for the past six weeks even as authorities called for "progressive and controlled easing of the confinement".
Amid the virus crisis, French public hospitals said that the cost of treating patients was $652-980 million even as over 28,000 people remain in hospital.
The French health ministry had said earlier that it would be making 377 million euros available to treat patients as the cost of treating patients continues to go up.
The country had reported 437 new deaths from COVID-19 in hospitals and nursing homes on Monday as authorities moved to ease restrictions.
The health ministry had said on Monday that the number of coronavirus patients in intensive care had gone down by 74 to 4,608 while the numbers in the hospital had fallen by 162 patients to 28,055.