Paris, May 4 (IANS): Travellers arriving in France from Europe's Schengen area and the UK will not be quarantined, as the country prepares to ease COVID-19 restrictions after a two-month lockdown, the Elysee Palace said.

Quarantine rules will not apply to "anyone arriving from the European Union (EU), the Schengen zone or Britian, regardless of their nationality", the Palace said on Sunday.

It added that rules on French and EU citizens arriving from other regions outside the bloc "will be announced in the coming days", reports Xinhua news agency.

On Saturday, Minister of Health Olivier Veran announced that the government has extended the country's "health emergency" status until July 24 to combat the pandemic, and that anyone entering the country will have to remain in isolation for two weeks.

The status, first declared on March 24, has been extended because lifting it as previously scheduled on May 23 "would be premature," as the risks of a resurgence were present, Veran added.

The total number of cases in France has reached 168,925, while the death toll has risen to 24,900.