Closed terraces in Menton. – MEIGNEUX ROMUALD / SIPA
- Despite a still fragile decline in the epidemic, the executive is maintaining its goal of gradually lifting the restrictions in May, removing the 10 km limit on May 3 and reopening the terraces in mid-May.
- The overall number of hospitalized Covid-19 patients recorded a slight decrease, with 30,954 patients identified and the number of patients in intensive care, also in very slight decline, remained above 5,900 people.
- Emmanuel Macron should speak by the first week of May and himself announce these modalities of reopening.
Almost four weeks after the entry into force of the restrictive measures for the whole of France, the executive is now looking at the deconfinement schedule, despite a still fragile decline in the coronavirus epidemic.
Back to school, reopening of terraces, cultural places and non-essential shops, end of travel restrictions … 20 minutes takes stock of the main dates of the deconfinement calendar.
April 26
Emmanuel Macron had promised on March 31, during his speech, nurseries, kindergartens and elementary schools will reopen on Monday April 26, after two weeks of vacation. Information confirmed by Olivier Véran, the Minister of Health, in an interview with Telegram, Tuesday : “To date, the schedule is as follows: April 26, the reopening of face-to-face schools. “
To avoid an epidemic resumption, the government wants to deploy a million saliva tests in schools as of the start of the school year, said a source in the executive on Wednesday, according to information from BFMTV and France Inter. From the same source, the health protocol will remain identical to the start of the spring break, with the closure of a class from the first case of Covid observed. Prime Minister Jean Castex, Minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer and Minister of Health Olivier Véran will hold a press conference this Thursday at 6 p.m. to clarify the health protocol put in place.
May 3
For middle and high school students, classes will also resume on April 26, but remotely. They will have to wait an additional week, until Monday, May 3, to find their way back to school in person, but probably in half-groups.
May 3 (May 2 at midnight to be precise) will also sign the end of the restriction of travel to 10 kilometers from home, confirmed the government spokesman, Gabriel Attal, this Wednesday at the end of the Council of Ministers and a Health Defense Council: “On May 3, the travel restrictions and certification, as well as the ban on interregional travel, are scheduled to be lifted. “
From this date, you will be able to travel more than 10 kilometers from your home, even in other regions, all without certificate. On the other hand, the curfew should remain in force: “The end or the reduction of the curfew is not among the measures for which the President has said that they will be in place for four weeks and that they will remain in effect. ‘ended on May 3. So it is not part of this calendar, ”added Gabriel Attal.
Mid-may
During his speech, on March 31, Emmanuel Macron had mentioned a reopening from mid-May of the terraces of cafes-restaurants and certain places of culture, an objective that he then reaffirmed in front of mayors and that have confirmed members of the government.
Consultations are currently taking place at the Ministries of Culture and the Economy with professionals to set a maximum level in places of culture and businesses that may reopen. These gauges could vary according to the territories, with a minimum threshold of 35%, depending on the level of circulation of the virus.
While no date has been put forward, government spokesman Gabriel Attal said the government was considering the reopening for Ascension weekend (May 13-16) or just after.
What we do not yet know
Several points remain unanswered. If the curfew is to continue for several weeks, his schedules could be shifted. The most cautious in the government would like to delay a maximum of one hour in metropolitan France, at 8 p.m., while supporters of the reopening plead for 11 p.m. In similar cases, the head of state has often opted for a mid-way compromise.
As for restaurants, cinemas, sports halls, nightclubs or festivals, no calendar has yet been mentioned. The President of the Republic should take the floor himself to announce all the modalities of the reopening, probably by the first week of May.