New French Prime Minister Jean Castex said masks will be mandatory in closed public places as of next week.
He said the decision will be implemented sooner than Aug. 1, as announced earlier by President Emmanuel Macron.
The change in date comes as the Mayenne area of the Loire region has seen several COVID-19 outbreaks, the Associated Press reported.
The French authorities have also recorded a marginal increase in infections in the Paris region.
Calling the situation in Mayenne “problematic,” French Health Minister Olivier Veran said he asked the prefect of Mayenne personally to make masks compulsory in closed public places without waiting for the later date.
