Granted extension: 15 more days.

It was announced yesterday by the French Prime Minister that the confinement that was set into place on Tuesday, March 17 would be extended till Wednesday, April 15, a total of 15 more days. The scientific advisory committee that has been assembled for this pandemic recommended a total of 6 weeks, this new extension brings us to 4 weeks and I bet they will extend it another 2 weeks toward the 15th of April.

On Tuesday, the 24th, they implemented new and more precise regulations to our confinement permission slip as well as to the orders in general. We now need to include a timestamp for when we leave the apartment. You are allowed up to 1 hour, once a day, of daily exercise outside of your home, but it should only be within 1 km of your residence and you need to respect the 1 m distance rule. Travel should only be for medical reasons and you’ll be needing a doctor’s note for that one. Also, the purchasing of essential goods is another reason you’re allowed to leave; this would be to either the grocery store or the pharmacy.

I went to our local Monoprix yesterday to buy groceries and it was a little different than when I went last Friday. This time, they were limiting the number of people allowed in at a time. When I got to the store, there was already a line of 10 people. I ended up waiting about 30 minutes before I was allowed inside. Everyone was being mindful of the social distancing, but there were more and more people wearing masks and gloves, myself included.

Next time we need anything from the store we’ll either do Click & Collect or delivery. As much as I enjoyed being outside for the time that I was, I’d honestly rather not risk it for myself or anyone else. I think there were just as many employees working: restocking, shopping for delivery or click and collect, and cleaning, as there were shoppers. Every single employee was using gloves and wearing a mask. There are alerts that have been put out by the government and the public health both on the television and the radio that talk about what to do if you have either a cough or a fever as well as how to wash your hand. It has changed over the several weeks with the information that they are communicating. I’ve included a link for the most recent alert above.

So here’s to 2 more weeks of confinement, where we most likely won’t leave the apartment at all except to retrieve packages and mail. We have virtual apéro with our friends and we’re checking in on one another, but it’s not the same. I cannot wait till we are on the other side of this and we can go out and see friends, go to events and enjoy time together on a patio over a pint of beer or a glass of wine. I cannot wait to walk the quai de Seine again and have a picnic and watch the sunset over a bottle of wine. I cannot wait to go to Parc des Buttes Chaumont and sit on a park bench and people watch or have beers with friends at TDTF or Goblet d’Argent. Here’s to staying in so I can spend my first summer as a Parisian with my husband and we can soak up all the good times.

bisous,
Sarah