PARIS “Something is happening that scientists had not foreseen. We have to react now, ”says Prime Minister Jean Castex. France records an increase of four times as many cases as a month ago, with 39 positives per 100,000 people nationwide, and a virus reproduction rate of 1.4 versus 0.7 in May. Then, 800 patients are hospitalized per week (500 a month and a half ago) e 21 departments (the French provinces) are “red zone”. The situations in Marseille and Paris are of particular concern. From this morning at 8 it was the obligation to wear an outdoor mask extended to the entire capital which was already in place in the busiest areas of the city and in other cities such as Marseille in Toulouse. A measure that could soon affect many other locations.
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The mask in Paris
It is mandatory outdoors (it was already in shops and other closed places) throughout the capital and in neighboring municipalities: whoever infringes risks a fine of 135 euros. At first the authorities had foreseen the obligation for those who walk on the street but also for those who jog or go by bicycle or scooter. Councilor Emmanuel Grégoire protested: “We tell people to take their bikes to avoid crowds in public transporti, and then we ask you to wear a mask which is particularly uncomfortable when cycling. Then we should togliere the obligation of a mask for those who run: anyone who has been jogging once in his life he knows that it is impossible to do it with a mask in front of the nose and mouth ».
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The controversy
The obligation to wear an outdoor mask comes a few days after the reopening of schools – on 1 September -, a crucial moment for society and the economy and also for the future developments of the epidemic. A gradual return to classes had already begun last May, in stages, but now it is generalized for all students, who from 11 years onwards will have to keep the mask during lessons, middle and high school. The fear is that the school will eventually degrade an already difficult situation for good and provoking the arrival of the dreaded second wave in the fall. For this reason the government insists on masks, which however cause protests and perplexities. Many remember the phrases of the Minister of Health Olivier Véran and the then spokesman of the government Sibeth Ndiaye, who at the beginning of the epidemic lightly assured that “masks for everyone are useless”. Today they have become the main weapon in the fight against the virus with some curious effects: in Paris, for example, it is forbidden to take them off to eat ice cream on the street. But it is still possible to sit outside for a drink or something to eat, or take off the mask for a picnic. Then there are the teachers, some of whom do not want to submit to the obligation to wear a mask while teaching in class, from elementary to high school.
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Neighboring countries
Faced with the uneasy data from France, Germany has decided to put the regions of Paris and Marseille on the red list of “areas at risk of circulation of the virus”. Those arriving in Germany from those areas are obliged to take the test and to quarantine themselves pending the result. A measure to which the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, also had to undergo before yesterday’s visit to Berlin. Belgium has also taken similar measures against those arriving from France, but there is still a lack of European coordination. The quarantine with France had already been decided at the beginning of the summer by Spain, while for now there are no measures of this type with the other neighboring country, Italy.
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28 August 2020 (change August 28, 2020 | 13:20)
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