It is the end of a symbol. The Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, announced on Wednesday May 11 that“from Monday May 16, wearing a mask will no longer be compulsory on all public transport”. Metro, bus, train, plane or taxis: the rule will be the same as in the rest of public places, namely that the “mask is still recommended” but will no longer be required. This health measure is not “more suitable”judged Mr. Véran at the end of the Council of Ministers since “the situation is improving”.
Indeed, the incidence rate has reached the level it had at the beginning of December 2021, when the Omicron variant took hold in France – even if it remains well above the peaks of the third and fourth waves, in April. and August 2021, and that more than 38,000 people are diagnosed with Covid-19 every day.
On the hospital side, fewer and fewer patients are admitted daily to the services, including critical care, where more than 1,300 people are currently accommodated. The decline in the death toll also continues, although 100 people still die from the disease daily.
“It is a symbolic measure which will probably not have a major effect on the epidemic situation, which is much better today”, analyzes Mahmoud Zureik, professor of epidemiology and public health at the University of Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. The lifting of the obligation to wear a mask in closed places open to the public, in mid-March, probably had a much greater impact, when the BA.2 sub-variant increased the number of contaminations.
Very reduced restrictions
“However, it is unfortunate that the obligation is also lifted for long journeys by train and plane, since these are closed places where users are in contact for a long time, with an increased risk of transmission”nuance M. Zureik.
The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control also dropped out, Wednesday, the recommendation of the compulsory wearing of the mask in airports and on board a flight. Agencies line up like this “largely on the changing requirements of national authorities across Europe for public transport”said EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky, welcoming “a big step forward in the standardization of air transport”.
In France, health restrictions for the general public are thus reduced to their bare minimum: a health pass remains necessary to access health structures, such as hospitals and accommodation establishments for dependent elderly people, at least until in the summer, according to Mr. Véran. In addition, people who test positive are always asked to isolate themselves for at least a week.
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