France says it has coronavirus ‘under control’ as the country cautiously lifts its lockdown
- France has reported 29,068 coronavirus deaths since the outbreak began
- But the number of daily deaths has dropped dramatically in recent weeks
- Cases also dropped to 1,000 per day, down from around 80,000 in early March
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
France says it has its coronavirus outbreak ‘under control’ as the country cautiously lifts lockdown measures.
France has reported 29,068 coronavirus deaths since the outbreak began making it the third worst-hit country in Europe after the UK and Italy.
But the number of daily deaths has dropped dramatically in recent weeks with just 44 reported by the health ministry today.
The number of new cases has also dropped to just 1,000 per day, down from around 80,000 in early March.
France says it has its coronavirus outbreak ‘under control’ as the country cautiously lifts lockdown measures. Pictured: Workers can be seen in the Chateau de Versailles as museums were able to reopen from June 2
A man wearing a protective face mask plays chess in the Jardin du Luxembourg garden in Paris a few days after it reopened
The head of the government’s scientific advisory council Jean-Francois Delfraissy told France Inter radio: ‘We can reasonably say the virus is currently under control.
‘The virus is still circulating, in certain regions in particular… but it is circulating slowly.’
Delfraissy, an immunologist, and his colleagues were appointed to the coronavirus advisory panel as authorities sought to contain the outbreak.
France had one of mainland Europe’s toughest responses to coronavirus with stay-at-home orders and business closures issued.
Theatres, gyms, swimming pools, beaches and museums were also reopened from June 2. Pictured: A worker helps ahead of the reopening of the Chateau de Versailles
A man wearing a disposable face mask plays petanque in the Jardin du Luxembourg garden in Paris after it reopened this month
The lockdown was partially lifted last month when hair salons, clothes shops, florists and bookshops were permitted to open again.
Restaurants were allowed to reopen on June 2. At this point, the country had 151,325 confirmed Covid-19 cases, the Sante Publique France health agency estimated.
But it cautioned that at the height of the outbreak, patients with suspected coronavirus infections were not systematically tested, meaning the actual number of cases exceeds the official estimate.
Theatres, gyms, swimming pools, beaches and museums were also reopened from June 2.