France lockdown 2 - vers un deconfinement

[CroissantsAtDawn]

2nd thread discussing the lockdown in France and the impending deconfinement...

First thread here:
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/coronavirus/3850860-Lockdown-conditions-in-France

I've just seen that photo, but with an explanation fro. The person who took it. The children were taking part in a game where they had to sit in the square, jump out of the square etc. It was taken out of context on twitter.

@AuldAlliance definitely try with the head. We had 3 parents pull their kids out this week after requesting places. It means we were able to contact parents who are doing tele travail to give them a bit of a break.

It feels like our school is just messing us around now. First they were going to open but DCs would only attend two days a week, then they were closed, now they are open but DCs from GS, CP and CM2 only can attend for two days a week each, the rest remain at home. This is a tiny school. GS only has 11 children and I know that more than half of the families do not want to send their kids back. What is going to happen in September if they can’t deal with this now?

At least DCs got play dates with a friend each today, they were so excited!

My DS (5ième) is going back to collège full time next week. Half the class will be there. He isn't very happy because none of his close friends are going back but I'm hoping he will work better because of that.
He definitely isn't a natural for continuing the homeschooling.
I had an enquiry for one of my gites (sleeps 12) yesterday, 8 adults and 6 children for Ascension weekend. I can't believe how stupid some people are.I think they must think that children don't count in the 10 per group rule.
I've noticed fewer people wearing masks in the shops. All the people who work in them do, but fewer customers than during confinement.

Those of you whose children are having play dates... are your children distancing in anyway during them? Do you make any enquiries as to whether the other family has any symptoms? Are they «normal» play dates (which for us usually involves sitting very close, swapping various toys / devices, football outside (and inside!), eating together and random hugs)?

No judging, just wondering what a play date looks like now. I don’t know if anyone who’s restarted anything like normal interactions and an a bit reticent to propose it to my younger child’s friends parents.

Normal play dates. We do tell them to pay attention and not share food and so on, but I won't keep them 2 meters apart. Nobody would send their children anywhere if they're ill, I cancelled one date because DS coughed randomly just once. Of course it comes with certain risks but we only see a couple of friends.

Well our village primary (Yvelines) went back on Tuesday and now is closed again as a teacher who was in with colleagues on Monday to prepare but not in on Tuesday has been exposed to Covid-19. So she is now waiting for a test and school is closed and everyone is running around like headless chickens on the village Facebook page wondering why on earth they opened it in the first place...
It does seem to me that the deconfinement here has not been anything different ( business as usual, 30-50% wearing masks) even tho we are supposed to be in a high risk red zone.

@MadameF people always think children don't count for the capacity.

Just seen on our local tourisme Facebook that while private pools can open those with shared pools are not allowed to open the pool. Even if they have different opening times per gite.

Have they said until when the 10 person limit is expected to apply? Both DC have birthdays in the summer and 10 means we could not even have 2 other families over.

Oh I might have answered my own question, seems that the 10 person limit does not apply to private residences www.lalsace.fr/sante/2020/05/14/deconfinement-les-rassemblements-de-plus-de-10-personnes-dans-un-lieu-prive-ne-sont-pas-interdits?fbclid=IwAR1CI9hPSlXcRuXjNMvUJnySOjfMaCr7-shNHBCieD7wSCL70YNpQvtLF5w

@Frenchfancy Yes, that's true, the children don't count.
However yesterday evening it was announced that the 10 people rule doesn't apply to private gatherings, just those in public. So I could have accepted the booking after all! Although as you say the ARS has banned 'public' pools (a pool shared by more than one house) from opening until June 2nd at the earliest.

Watcha you'll probably find that it varies depending on where you live. My son is too old for play dates but he went out skating with a friend yesterday and he is going to another friend's to play guitar at the weekend. There is no evidence of any community transmission here so it would not be rational to prevent him. (We are in the SW, south of Toulouse in a département which has only had a handful of confirmed cases).

Frenchfancy, thank you.

Normal play dates here and DD is going to a sleep over next week. DS Ex and I have probably had Covid so hopefully we have some immunity for some time.

My local Intermarche has had a sign forbidding children from the shop but they have been told it is illegal and they have backed down. Obviously I am not taking the DCs for a fun outing at the supermarket but I imagine there are single parents with no childcare options who still need to shop.

Well my CM1 came back from first day at school delighted at lunchtime, so pleased to be back and not at all phased by the restrictions. Teachers just wearing masks and not the visors some appeared in last week, taking temperatures at the door and xes all over the playground.

I think a lot of parents are waiting for the schools to be open for a few weeks and see if infection rise before sending the kids back . Our primary tried to insist that you make the decision and stick to it rather than hmming and hawing but there was uproar. I can imagine it is a nightmare to organise if the numbers change from one week to another.

I'm a bit about playdates as there doesn't seem to be much point in keeping them separate at school if they are playing together in gardens or houses, but will accept it: we know most of our kids friend's families well and we just have to trust people are sensible about risks.

I think holiday homes / gites with private pools might do very well this summer, even with foreign cancellations. We're going to wait a bit longer, but expect we won't be able to travel back to family in mid July (we had an overnight ferry booked) so will try to swap for a house with a pool somewhere in France.

Denmark opened schools a month ago and haven't seen spikes. Plus all countries have had schools open for key worker children.

Our school was quite clear that you had to decide now, so I'm not sure it's even an option to change your mind, if you said your child will not be going to school. As you say usually, it will be challenging to re-organise everything if you have 10DC one week but 20 want to come back the next.

I think our schools (public) said that decisions are binding until 4/5 juin, with a ré-évaluation at the end of mai.

I ran into the head of the centre de loisirs this morning who runs the maternelle pre-school breakfast club. He said they were expecting six kids but none showed. Must be a nightmare to organise.

We were told that we had to commit and things would be reassessed at the end of May when they will see if it's feasible to open school for CE1, CE2 and CM1. Which is why I'm a bit at there suddenly being 2 priority pupils two days after school went back. Maybe an employer changing policy at the last minute...

I spoke to the head and he is going to let us know tomorrow how he solves the problem of the 2 extra pupils.

@Watchagotcha

Regarding your elderly parents in the UK. What country do they live in?
Scotland has a number to contact 0800111 4000
Or England, sorry long link.
If you cannot go out because you’re clinically extremely vulnerable, self isolating or for any other reason
If you can, ask friends, family or neighbours who are well to go out and get food and other essentials for you. If you do not have others to help you, there may be community groups who can help in your area or your local shops may be able to provide orders for delivery (by phone or by email).

If someone is going to the shops for you, most of the major supermarkets have ways you can pay for your shopping, such as e-vouchers or gift cards. You can buy these online and the person shopping for you can use them in store. To find out about payment options, visit:

your supermarket’s website
UK Finance (the collective voice for the banking and finance industry)
If you or a family member meet the criteria to get support from the NHS Volunteer Responders programme, you can call 0808 196 3646 and ask for help with food, prescriptions and essential items.

If you need urgent help and have no other means of support, contact your local authority to find out what support services are available in your area.

@Coquohvan
Thank you so much for that. They are ok for things like shopping, medication, etc. It's more that MIL was on the edge of needing personal care - help with toileting, showering, getting dressed etc - and is starting to resist FIL doing it. They had been just about to start on the process of getting carers organised when everything shut down, and all her medical rdv were cancelled - or replaced with phone calls, which isn't ideal for someone in her condition. But DH has been calling more often, and things seem to be ok for now - but they are really just holding out until things like social care and the NHS open up again.

Was caught in an actual traffic jam today. Haven't seen one of those for a while.

We sat in a traffic jam in our small town on Tuesday afternoon. I think people have forgotten how to drive, I saw some shocking driving!

I went non-food shopping for the first time today, on foot in the town centre. Everyone wearing masks in shops, most people outside too. Business seems to have picked up very quickly at small businesses: I went to get some pictures framed and I can't get them done for 2 weeks. The music shop had a steady stream of customers too.

DS went for a haircut and that was busy too, inevitably. He got sprayed with a disinfectant, gowned and gloved, and had a mask stuck to his face lol.

I went to IKEA today. So apparently did everybody else. Had to lie down afterwards.

IKEA is open???? Ours is absolutely humongous, I thought there was a size limit for shops.

I didn't realise ikea could open!

I'm going to Nantes tomorrow to pick up some of DD2s belongings she left in her apartment. Her address is about 98km from here so that's allowed. Ikea is 102km so that's not! I wouldn't be going anyway what with having no money.