French Move Ahead Of Lockdown

The Atmosphere of Paris (Grillot Edouard / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - France is ready to end the lockdown. After having implemented a zoning policy for several weeks, the authorities are now working on steps to reopen access to human movement on May 11.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said that since April 9, the authorities have provided hand sanitizers throughout the City of Paris as a first step in anticipating the stop of the lockdown. The obvious "looser" way to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Launching Reuters, this anticipatory step is taken because they will re-activate many activities, including schools that will reopen. Therefore, bus stops in Paris and metro entrances will be equipped with hand sanitizers, while requiring passengers to wear masks.

Not only that, hand sanitizers are also provided free of charge in other public spaces, such as swimming pools, sports stadiums, streets and health facilities. In order to make this step a success, Hidalgo has partnered with a company that struggles on the billboard, JCDecaux to start making the scheme.

Regarding requiring the use of masks in public places, Hidalgo revealed that this is still being discussed further. "Given how tight the steps are going to be, this really grabs my attention," Hidalgo said.

The French government is currently being criticized by its citizens for the shortage of masks and testing kits for COVID-19. Fortunately, French President Emmanuel Macron immediately responded by promising French citizens to test anyone who showed symptoms of COVID-19 and provide cloth masks to their citizens starting May 11.

Even so, Hidalgo added that some roads in Paris will remain temporarily closed for car users. This was done in an effort to keep pollution from vehicles from worsening the spread of COVID-19, which is known to attack the respiratory system.