France relaxes social distancing at events with under 5,000 people

France is now allowing indoor gigs and events with under 5,000 people in attendance to go ahead without social distancing measures in place, said France’s Prime Minister Jean Castex in a recent interview with France Inter.

The only exception is départements designated as ‘red-zones’ where cases are spiking, including cities such as Paris, Lyon, and the Bouches-du-Rhône and Gironde areas where Marseille and Bordeaux respectively are located.

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Across all of these ‘small events’, such as concerts, nightclubs, theatre shows and cinemas, masks and seating will be compulsory at all times.

Earlier this week France announce that 'large events' with more than 5,000 people will remain banned until November.

“I say to the French people, go to the cinema, go to the theatre – you don’t risk anything,” said Prime Minister Castex.

France’s culture minister Roselyne Bachelot confirmed the new measures, writing about the “elimination of distancing and continuous mask wearing, except in red zones” on Twitter. Castex said measures in the designated red-zones could be made stricter.

The move makes France the first major live music market to begin encouraging the return of live shows and events without social distancing. The country has also announced plans for a €2 billion economic recovery package for the culture sector.

Yesterday, August 25, France recorded 3,304 new coronavirus infections, which was up from 1,955 the day prior but down from 4,897 new infections on August 23.

[Via: IQ]

Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Digital Features Editor, follow him on Twitter

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