The orange rating means Paris is not as free of the virus as the majority of regions in France designated “green”, however, earlier lockdown measures will be eased in Paris, with parks in the capital due to re-open next week.

Health results have been good so far in France, the prime minister, Edouard Philippe, said on Thursday, as the country prepares to enter a second phase in its relaxation of lockdown rules on June 2.

“Results are good from a health point of view, even if we remain cautious”, Philippe told a news conference.

The reproduction rate of the coronavirus infection is below 1 in most of France’s national territory, Health Minister Olivier Veran has said.

“The reproduction factor R is a key indicator for how many other people are infected by someone who is cororonavirus positive. If “R” is smaller than one, which is the case on most of our territory, then the epidemic regresses,” Veran said at a government briefing on the virus.

Header: Medical staff demonstrate at a Paris hospital on Wednesday. French nurses and doctors demand better pay and a rethink of the health system. Photograph: Thibault Camus/AP

Original: REUTERS, THE GUARDIAN and AL JAZEERA