From Paris to Lyon via the Dordogne or Charente-Maritime, wearing a mask is making a comeback outdoors, in an attempt to curb a particularly contagious Omicron variant.
Many departments or cities, such as in the Paris region or in Lyon, have announced the return of the compulsory mask in the street from this Friday, December 30 in an attempt to curb the Omicron variant, which detonates Covid-19 contaminations.
The Paris police headquarters announced the return of the mask on Wednesday evening less than 48 hours later in the capital. The mask must be worn by people over 11 years old, “with the exception of people circulating inside vehicles, cyclists and users of two-wheelers” or “people practicing a sporting activity” in streets and places open to the public, except Bois de Boulogne and Vincennes, she said in a press release.
The other prefectures of Île-de-France have followed suit by announcing similar measures, the contours of which however diverge according to the departments.
The mask is again imposed in all the departments of Hauts-de-Seine, Val-de-Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis, in all the municipalities of Val-d’Oise (perimeter between the panels entry and exit from the town) and Seine-et-Marne, in the towns of Essonne and in the center of the towns of Yvelines.
“No choice”
“You have to anyway, there is no choice. To avoid contamination with Omicron all this, […] it’s a necessary evil, ”said Mohamed Ben Jemaa, 68, retired interviewed Thursday by AFP in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis). “I do not understand why we must be forced to wear the mask, we are already doing the tests, we have a third dose,” said Selphine Che, a 29-year-old beautician whose vaccinated mother has just caught the virus.
This air of déjà vu is also spreading in other cities. In Lyon or Villeurbanne, the mask is back as of this Thursday midnight for three weeks, “except between 2 am and 6 am”, indicated the prefecture of the Rhône. With the exception of the beaches and certain natural spaces, the mask will also be required in Loire-Atlantique. In Tours, the obligation will only be valid in the city center from January 1, for one month.
Some decrees concern the southwest. In Charente-Maritime, the obligation to wear a mask outside is extended to 72 municipalities from Thursday until January 19, and concerns both La Rochelle and Ilian municipalities such as Ars-en-Ré or Dolus -Oléron.
In Dordogne, “in Périgueux, Bergerac and Sarlat, and in agreement with the mayors concerned, the wearing of a mask will again be compulsory from December 31 in the city center, and for a period of one month possibly renewable depending on the evolution of the health situation ”, indicated the prefecture.
In Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, one of the regions with the highest incidence rate of the virus in metropolitan France, the mask is already a reality in the Var since December 11 and until January 7. Offenders are liable to a fine of 135 euros.