It is time to ease coronavirus lockdown: French PM

PARIS (REUTERS): French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has said that the lockdown imposed to curb the coronavirus spread has saved tens of thousands of lives in the country, but it was about time to ease the restrictions to avoid economic collapse.

Addressing the parliament today (Tuesday), he said, “We are going to have to learn to live with the virus,” adding “We must learn to live with COVID-19 and to protect ourselves from it.”

“France would begin emerging from the lockdown on May 11, unless it was unsafe to do so,” Philippe said.

“If the indicators are not right, we will not unwind the lockdown on May 11, or we will do it more strictly,” he added.

The French Prime Minister further said that France would have the capacity to conduct 700,000 tests per week.

Earlier on Monday, the death toll in France passed 23,000. France has become the world’s fourth most affected country from coronavirus in the world.

However, the government is now looking to take advantage of falling infection rates to rescue a free-falling economy.

Meanwhile, the French premier also announced that professional sports leagues, including football and rugby, cannot restart before September because of coronavirus restrictions.