Covid-19: is the compulsory wearing of a mask inevitable in France, as the number of cases starts again at the h – LaDepeche.fr

the essential While Covid-19 contaminations have been on the rise in recent weeks, Emmanuel Macron has mentioned a possible mandatory return to wearing a mask. At the same time, many French people have already put it back. While the obligation to wear a mask has been lifted since March 14, Covid-19 contaminations continue to increase. Indeed, in total, more than 180,000 cases were detected on the single day of March 22 according to Public Health France. Over the past week, the country has recorded an average of almost 104,000 new cases of Covid-19 every day, as shown in the graph below (if no graph is visible, please deactivate your ad blocker). In addition, more than 20,000 people are currently hospitalized in the territory for a serious form of the virus. The President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron reacted to these eloquent figures. “If things were to deteriorate, the president that I am would take his responsibilities to protect” he declared on March 23 on the set of M6, about the possible reinstatement of the wearing of the mask. This potential back-pedalling questions the government’s recent decision to abolish the wearing of masks in all enclosed places, except public transport and health establishments: “I am surprised at the way in which we decided to stop wearing masks. mask when it was still necessary in view of the intense circulation of the virus”, questions Étienne Decroly, virologist and researcher at the CNRS, with La Dépêche du Midi. The World Health Organization has also agreed with the researcher: the institution ruled last Tuesday March 22 that several European countries, including France, had too “brutally” lifted their anti-Covid-19 measures. “No indication to remove the mask” “The obligation to wear a mask should have been lifted if a certain number of measures had been taken for the ventilation of premises and public transport, for example. However, to my knowledge, these measures have not been taken so there is no particular indication today to remove the mask”, warns the virologist. A decision, taken too soon, due to “a general fed up” and which therefore tends to a rapid backtracking according to the specialist. “Objectives should have been defined according to the level of circulation of the virus. From this, we could have decided to lift the wearing of masks indoors, then individual protection measures in indoor enclosed spaces and finally in transport. in common. It would have been an objective management of the crisis”, notes the specialist. A voluntary return to wearing a mask Even if the mask is no longer compulsory, many French people still seem to have decided to keep it to protect themselves from the virus. In many schools, directors even encourage parents to make their children wear masks again due to the increase in contamination. An individual decision that is not necessarily enough to really protect oneself. “People who decide to keep it are perhaps the most at risk. The problem is that with surgical-type masks the protection is not optimal if everyone does not wear it”, laments Etienne Decroly. “From the moment it is a voluntary measure and the person deems it necessary to wear a mask, it is necessary to favor FFP2 type masks to be better protected”, advises the virologist.