France lifts Covid restrictions as case numbers ease

Masks are no longer required outdoors in France.

Masks are no longer required outdoors in France.

France on Wednesday loosened several of the restrictions imposed to curb the latest Covid-19 surge, with authorities hoping a recent decline in daily cases will soon ease pressure on overburdened hospitals.

The move has divided experts after authorities reported record coronavirus infections just last month, with critics accusing the government of making a hasty bet on a return to normality.

The government says more than 90 percent of adults are vaccinated, and booster shots or proof of recovery from Covid will be required to retain the new health pass -- a recent negative test result is no longer accepted.

"It was about time," nurse Ludovic told AFP in central Paris. "I don't see much point wearing masks outdoors, even if you have to be careful inside."

Working from home is also no longer required, though it remains strongly recommended.

Eating and drinking will also be permitted in stadiums, cinemas and public transport from that date.

- Cautious optimism -

"We have seen a weak reversal of the trend over the past few days, with fewer cases declared each day than seven days earlier," government spokesman Gabriel Attal told France Info radio Tuesday.

Attal called it a "very encouraging signal" but said officials "remain cautious" because of a "very contagious" sub-variant of Omicron, BA.1, that appears to have delayed the peak of infections in other countries.

"We've clearly passed the peak, we hope the decline will be quick. But we're coming from stratospheric levels, so this wave is still far from over," the epidemiologist Mahmoud Zureik told French newspaper Le Parisien on Wednesday.

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Originally published as France lifts Covid restrictions as case numbers ease