The number of fines for non-compliance with security regulations in the public domain continues to increase: the Vaud police counter posted a total of 742 this Friday, April 3, against 577 two days earlier. And with the combined arrival of the Easter holidays and finally spring temperatures, the police will not be idle. We will however continue to see them come into contact without a protective mask with the population. And many are moved by it.
The Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH) does not recommend that the mask be worn by healthy people in the public domain. A directive made by the Vaud cantonal doctor Karim Boubaker. At a previous Canton press conference, he believed that masks should be given priority to health workers. “If a police officer is forced to have physical contact with a person, he can wear a mask. But these are still very limited situations. ”
In Lausanne, where police officers and police assistants are mobilized so that people do not meet more than five in public spaces, with two meters between them, the police demand a permanent mask ? Or at least the free choice to wear it or not depending on the situation, as recently decided in Geneva under pressure from the police unions? We are asked to put our questions directly to the Cantonal Driving Staff. Jean-Christophe Sauterel is the communications manager. “The same rules apply to everyone, citizens, police and firefighters alike, in the course of their ordinary activities. This is why wearing the mask at all times is reserved for healthcare personnel, except in special circumstances. ”
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The Vaud police have received two masks to put on order, or on their own, in the presence of a person known to be at risk or contaminated. They also have hydroalcoholic gel on them. “We also respect social distances between us, during relationships or meals. In the canteen, for example, there are only two to eat on a table provided for six ”, continues Jean-Christophe Sauterel. The patrols do not change either: it is always the same police officers who work together. As for the stock of masks available to the police, it is considered sufficient in relation to their type of activity. For Jean-Christophe Sauterel, the mask would also give a false sense of security to who wears it. “Even more so if it is worn by people who are not medical professionals, and who do not handle it with the necessary rigor.”
Created: 03.04.2020, 19:50
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