Faced with the resurgence of the Covid-19 epidemic, the start of the school year promises to be masked and governed by a new protocol in companies, and more generally in the workplace. The Minister of Labor, Elisabeth Borne, made the announcement at the heart of the weekend of August 15, in Sunday Newspaper : new health rules, “Including the compulsory wearing of a mask” in certain situations, such as meetings or traffic in common areas, must be presented tomorrow, Tuesday 18 August, to the social partners. More generally, teleworking “Remains recommended”, And this “Whenever possible in areas of active virus circulation”, added the minister.
Rules that will have to come into force by the end of August, so that the resumption of September is done under the best possible sanitary conditions. However, the minister half-heartedly dismisses a new generalized confinement that would put companies back in slow motion, even at a standstill, after the eight weeks of confinement from March 17 to May 11: “We are therefore going to see what measures can be envisaged to combine occupational health and continuity of economic activity”, she emphasizes.
Nicolas Péju, deputy director of the regional health agency (ARS) of Ile-de-France, had already hinted a few days ago that the mask could be imposed in offices, workshops or factories. “Indeed, there can be many occasions when the rules of distancing cannot be respected, in companies as elsewhere, he said. In all these cases, the wearing of the mask must be effective. “ On the other hand, the gauge of 4 square meters of space per employee, made compulsory in the deconfinement protocol published in mid-May, should not be modified by these new measures.
The latest data on the circulation of the virus in France indeed show that professional environments are conducive to contamination. As of August 16, according to data from the ARS Ile-de-France, on 73 active epidemic foci identified in the region, just over one in four was located in a professional environment.
Among the different types of clusters identified, such as extended family, gatherings of people, institutions for the elderly or universities or schools, public and private companies are the most frequent place of contamination. They represent nearly three out of ten clusters under investigation.
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