20 French cities urged to prepare local plans for lockdown

Government advisory body the Conseil Scientifique said the 20 largest cities in France must devise local lockdown plans in case of a second wave of the virus – and possible future pandemics. Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer said health and safety measures in schools could be ramped up in line with local virus rates, possibly resulting in a return to distance learning. A spokeswoman for Toulouse told Connexion plans they had been told to draw up concerned authorities would deliver services if another lockdown became necessary. “The plan we have been asked to prepare is not concerned with the rules of a lockdown, only with how we can deliver services like looking after old people in their homes, cleaning schools, collecting rubbish and so on,” she said. “The Prime Minister’s office will lay down the law on how a lockdown would work.”