French Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday face masks are set to be mandatory outdoors in Paris as the government needs to intervene to contain the spread of the new coronavirus outbreak.
Castex also told a news conference that Health Minister Olivier Véran will start holding weekly news briefings over Covid-19, which is circulating widely among young people in France.
As the country nears “la rentrée” – the beginning of the school year –grandparents should avoid picking up their grandchildren from school to avoid possible infection, the PM said.
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Castex said rules regarding the compulsory wearing of face masks outdoors in Paris are set to be broadened following a consultation with the local government and police force to work out details.
At the moment, wearing a face mask is not obligatory in certain outdoor spaces in the French capital, such as in public parks or on some of the less busy streets.
The government is hoping to avoid a new nationwide lockdown, but the country has been facing a resurgence of new Covid-19 infections since July, with an acceleration from mid-August.
The French Health Ministry said Wednesday it had registered 5,429 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, a new post-lockdown high and a level of new infections not seen since the height of the epidemic in early April.
(FRANCE 24 with REUTERS)
