Face Mask Made Mandatory in Indoor Public Spaces in France

The French Government has issued an order to make mask-wearing mandatory in all the indoor public spaces in the country. The order came into effect from July 20 amidst fears of the worsening condition of the spread of the COVID 19 pandemic in the country.

Highlights

As per the order of the government, wearing a face mask is now mandatory for all people older than 10 years of age in restaurants and hotels, shops, covered markets, museums, cinemas, concert halls, places of worship, airports and stations, libraries, vacation centres, administration offices and banks, etc.

Any person who is not wearing a face mask and does not abide by the instructions of the authorities will have to pay a fine of 135 euros (the US $154.7). The decision has been made in the wake of the resumption of the epidemic in certain places in the national territory of the country.

France lifted the lockdown from the country in May and since then, between 400 and 500 active cases are being detected from the active coronavirus clusters in the country, mainly due to summer holidays going on.

In June, the scientific council also recommended the government to be vigilant in the matter so that the future epidemic scenarios are not experienced in the country. It has also explained four scenarios related to the pandemic that can happen in the country.

The first scenario is an epidemic under control as a result of the lockdown in the country whereas the second one explains the appearance of the critical clusters within the country. The third scenario comprises of a progressive, quiet restart of the epidemic which would be very difficult to control and the fourth scenario is the most severe one involving a critical degradation in the country.

Month: Current Affairs - July, 2020