Emmanuel Macron announced it during his televised interview Tuesday: from August 1, it will be mandatory to wear a mask to protect yourself from the Covid-19 in "closed public places". But what exactly does this term cover?
Contacted on this subject Tuesday, the Directorate General of Health was not yet able to define for the moment what a "closed public place" meant, but assured that it would be clarified very soon.
Currently, wearing a mask is compulsory in many places open to the public: stations and public transport, shops where the person responsible has indicated the obligation to protect themselves, museums, monuments, places of worship, establishments sportsmen covered…
Also affected are common areas of hotels or places of circulation in theaters and cinemas. Places that have in common to be closed, and therefore considered more favorable to the spread of the virus.
Many doctors had already asked that the wearing of the mask be imposed in all types of enclosed places - whether administrative buildings or private companies - in particular in a column published on July 11 in Le Parisien-Aujourd ' today in France.
It would be wise to equip yourself in "all establishments open to the public, from small businesses or offices, to supermarkets, passing through the village hall", judges Dr Michaël Rochoy, member of the Stop-postillons collective, who militates for the obligation to wear a mask. The measure would therefore exclude parks, gardens and other outdoor places.
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"There is no legal definition," notes Emilie Chandler, a lawyer in health law. "I think this formulation, closed public places , comes from the podium signed by several doctors in your columns (in Le Parisien Editor's note)," she analyzes. “There are a lot of small definitions because public space refers to hybrid places. When we take Emmanuel Macron's formulation a little differently, and when we talk about places open to the public, we come across something more coherent. Because that means administrative and commercial activities: town halls, public services, shops, ”continues the specialist.
The offices also concerned?
On the other hand, it is difficult to know if this measure will concern offices, which are not open to the public but where the employees are numerous. "Scientific logic would obviously want this to be the case," says Dr. Rochoy. In places where we go on purpose for food and drink, such as in restaurants, we will have to find other solutions, adds Dr Franck Clarot, who signed a forum on wearing a mask in Liberation: In principle, the tables are left behind, we are only there with people we know, there may be Plexiglas to separate people, ”he comments.
“In the“ covid ”spirit, these are all the moments when you cannot respect distancing. We have no binding text, but it refers to the idea of where we cannot respect barrier gestures, where we can be in contact with third parties. In the idea of confinement, these are all places that are not at home, nor the outdoors, ”continues Emilie Chandler.
In Saint-Ouen, in Seine-Saint-Denis, the measure has however been effective since Monday. After the detection of several cases of Covid in a school, the prefect of the department issued a decree making the wearing of the mask mandatory in "any closed establishment receiving the public, whether its activity is administrative or commercial," says the prefecture. in a press release. This concerns in particular “shops”, “town hall”, “public services”, “common parts of hotels”.
The Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, has already encouraged the French to wear masks before August 1. Why wait so long, then? Because of a "logistical work", he explained during a press point after a visit to the Henri-Mondor hospital in Créteil (AP-HP). "Where do the masks come from, how do we make sure the French have them?" We need to be able to answer these questions, it requires a few days, ”he said.
"If it can be before, it will be before," added Secretary of State Gabriel Attal during the Council of Ministers report, adding that there is "legal and technical work currently under way" and that "The decree will be published soon".
