France will not mandate the wearing of masks outdoors by summer if the country’s vaccine rollout accelerates, French Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Tuesday.
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“When we have enough French people vaccinated, we can let down our guard,’’ Veran was quoted by local broadcaster Europe 1 as saying.
More than 16 million people in France have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot, and about 6.7 million people have received two jabs.
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This represents more than 30 per cent and nearly 13 per cent of the country’s adult population respectively, according to the Health Ministry.
To date, France has reported a total of 5.66 million COVID-19 cases and 105,310 related deaths.
The French government aims to inoculate 20 million people by mid-May and 30 million by mid-June.
On Monday, the government lifted travel restrictions limiting people to a 10 km radius from their homes.
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Inter-regional travel is also permitted and secondary schools were partly reopened.
From May 19, the night curfew will also be pushed back by two hours to 9 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) and non-essential shops will also reopen.
Restaurants and cafes will be able to receive clients with a maximum of six people per table.
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Museums, theaters, cinemas and sport facilities will reopen, with a limit of 800 people indoors and 1,000 outdoors.
NAN