France begins to gradually ease Covid-19 related restrictions

Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the peak of the second wave of the pandemic had been overcome and announced three stages of relaxing the restrictions.

The first stage of relaxing measures to curb the Covid-19 pandemic in France entered into force on Saturday, with stores and hairdressers resuming operations, as the European country sees a significant drop in the number of new cases.

Despite the fact that the self-isolation regime introduced on October 30 still remains in force, citizens in France can now travel 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) from home and stay outside for three hours. (Reuters Photo)

Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the peak of the second wave of the pandemic had been overcome and announced three stages of relaxing the restrictions.

Despite the fact that the self-isolation regime introduced on October 30 still remains in force, citizens in France can now travel 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) from home and stay outside for three hours. Previously, it was forbidden to leave home for more than an hour and travel more than a kilometer from the place of residence.

Meanwhile, stores resuming their operations should follow stricter sanitary rules -- they need at least eight square meters (86 square feet) of space per one customer. Beauty salons and hairdressers are required to provide services only by the previous appointment.

The second stage of easing coronavirus-related restrictions is set to begin on December 15 and envisages a curfew instead of quarantine and lifting a ban on the citizens’ movement across the country.