(Paris) The French local authorities will be able to impose the wearing of masks outdoors, in areas where the COVID pandemic – 14 is going up, announced the French Minister of Health on Friday.
Posted on 31 July 2020 at 14 h 44
France Media Agency
“The prefects will now be able by decree to extend the obligation to wear a mask to open public places. This decision can be made locally, depending on the evolution of the epidemic in each territory, “Olivier Véran announced in a tweet.
This obligation had previously been announced by the prefect of the North, who had said that wearing a mask would be compulsory in public spaces from Monday in “a certain number of areas” of the European metropolis of Lille.
PHOTO DENIS CHARLET, FRANCE-PRESSE AGENCY
At the municipal level, cities such as Biarritz and Bayonne (south-west), Saint-Malo (west) and Orléans (center) imposed as of Thursday the wearing of the mask outdoors, in their center or in the markets.
Authorities warn of increased circulation of the coronavirus, nearly three months after the end of containment and the summer encouraging festive gatherings in the open air.
They explain the need for the mask on the outside by the evidence that accumulates to say that COVID – 14 is transmitted via fine droplets suspended in the air exhaled by patients (“aerosols”) and not only via postilions.
The minister had already mentioned this possibility on Wednesday: “If you are in a street where there are several people going for a walk and you are not sure you can keep the distance, I recommend it”, had- he says.
France has recorded an increase of more than 1300 cases in recent 24 hours.
Thursday evening, the health agency Public Health France (SpF) also noted a “marked increase” in the number of new cases, from 47% compared to the previous week, “particularly among 19 – 30 years “.