Factbox: Back to lockdown - the new French measures to contain COVID-19 spread
PARIS (Reuters) - French Prime Minister Jean Castex on Thursday gave details of the lockdown that will come into effect on Friday in an effort to put the brakes on a COVID-19 epidemic that officials say risks spiraling out of control.
Below are the main measures he announced:
* People will have to remain in their homes and only ventureoutside if they have a justification for doing that. Those justifications include: essential food shopping, taking a child to school, essential work that cannot be done from home, attending a medical appointment, providing urgent help to a family member, or one hour per day of exercise within one kilometer of the home.
* Anyone outside their home will need to carry a documentjustifying their presence outside. This can be checked bypolice.
* Schools will remain open, a departure from the lastlockdown in the spring when all educational establishments were shut down.
* Children from six years old and upwards will be required to wear masks in classes. Up to now, the requirement to wear masks applied to children from 11 upwards.
* Universities will close.
* Cafes, and restaurants will shut.
* Shops will close, with the exception of garages, auto repair shops, supermarkets, launderettes, opticians, and pharmacies.
* State services for the public will remain open, includingmunicipal services.
* Places of worship will remain open, but celebrations such as weddings will be limited to small groups.
* All those who can work from home must do so, unless it is technically impossible.
* Community sport activities will be halted.
* No one can enter France from outside the European Union except in special circumstances, but borders between France and other EU countries will remain open.
* The measures are to come into effect from 00:01 am onFriday morning and will remain in force until Dec. 1.
* Hotels can remain open with limited capacity for professional travel.
(Reporting by Geert De Clercq and Christian Lowe)
