Casinos and amusement arcades will be allowed to reopen on Monday in France, as part of a further easing of coronavirus restrictions, the country’s Prime Minister Édouard Philippe said.
The improvement of the sanitary situation indeed allows the lifting of certain interdictions,” a statement from Philippe’s office said.
Team sport practice will also be allowed to resume Monday, but contact sports remain banned.
“Its (contact sport) situation will be discussed before September,” the statement says.
July 11 marks the end of France’s state of emergency. Up to 5,000 people will be allowed to fill stadiums from that date, though some restrictions will remain. The statement adds that “activities involving more than 1,500 people will have to be declared in order to guarantee the necessary precautions.”
The 5,000-person limit will continue until September 1, but “the national epidemiological situation will be reassessed mid-July to see if an easing is possible for the second part of August,” according to Philippe’s office.
The proprietors of nightclubs and organizers of international sea cruises will have to wait until September to know whether they can resume their activities.
France has recorded 196,083 coronavirus cases and 29,620 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.