TOPLINE
Facing around 500 new infections each day, England and France announced new nationwide mask mandates on Tuesday to curb minor resurgences of the virus, highlighting a marked difference in approach from the significantly hardest hit United States, whose leaders have reprimanded strongly the need for a national requirement despite new highs of 60,000 infections daily.
French President Emmanuel Macron (R) and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (L) leave after … [+]
KEY FACTS
During a widely televised speech for the Bastille Day celebrations, French President Emmanual Macron said the country has seen “some signs that [the virus is] Going back a bit, “and announced that it will be mandatory to wear masks in” stores and other closed public spaces “in the coming weeks.
France and the United Kingdom have seen their new daily infection numbers hover around 500 per week; However, while France’s seven-day average remains low, on July 13 the country reported 1,625 new cases.
France, which has seen more than 30,000 coronavirus deaths after a major outbreak in April, already required facial covers on public transport and in public spaces where social distancing was not possible.
England also updated its mask rules on Tuesday, with Health Secretary Matt Hancock announcing the mandatory use of facial coatings in stores and supermarkets; strengthening the previous government guide in May to wear masks in public.
On the other hand, the United States has seen its cases soar this month, continually breaking new daily infection records and reaching pandemic highs of more than 60,000 in recent days.
Despite troubling numbers, only half of the country requires the use of face masks, and some of the worst-affected states, including Florida and Arizona, have refused to impose restrictions.
Crucial quote
“I don’t know if it’s mandatory,” President Trump said when asked during a Fox Interview if you would support a national order for people to wear masks in public. “But I am everything for the masks, I think the masks are good.”
Key background
Although high-ranking public health officials and the World Health Organization have often said that the politicization of the pandemic could hinder progress, the mask has become the subject of heated partisan debate in the United States. Until recently, Trump refused to wear a mask in public and once said that people wore masks to show their disapproval. In Florida, the new epicenter of the virus, Rep. Anthony Sabatini (R-Howey in the Hills) has been involved in multiple lawsuits against mandatory mask orders in several Florida counties and called advocates of masks “Masks- Nazis. ” Although the gap is tightening, there is still a significant difference in the use of Republican and Democratic face masks, with 45% of Republicans saying they are wearing facials “all the time” versus 78% of Democrats.
Big number: 45,447
The number of coronavirus deaths that could be prevented in November if at least 95% of people wore facial covers in public, according to a forecast by the Institute for Health Measurement and Assessment frequently cited by public health experts and the White House .
Further reading
“Why Florida, the new epicenter of the pandemic, will not require facial masks” (Forbes)
“The IHME model projects 208,255 US deaths for November, but the estimate drops sharply if mask use increases” (Forbes)
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