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Masks were made mandatory in the second city of France Marseille and Paris now probably has the same rule
French Prime Minister Jean Castex has responded to a sharp increase in infections with a series of measures including heightened tests and mandatory face coverage in Paris.
The number of “red zones” where the virus is in active circulation has increased from two to 21.
If France did not act quickly, the spread could become “exponential”, he warned.
A number of European countries are seeing a new rise in cases, and Germany is also planning stricter rules.
French officials registered 5,429 new infections on Wednesday and Mr Castex said Covid-19 “gained ground” across the country.
There was an “undisputed recurrence of the epidemic,” he said, with a national rate of 39 positive cases per 100,000 people, four times the rate of a month ago.
Masks for Paris
The promise to do everything possible to prevent another widespread blockade, the prime minister said wearing a mask would be mandatory in the capital.
While individual streets and areas in the capital already have rules on wearing face masks, this new rule will be much more extensive, covering not only Paris, but the inner ring of Seine-Saint-Denis, Hauts-de-Seine and Val- de -Marne.
From 08:00 on Friday (06:00 GMT) all pedestrians must wear face masks in public areas, such as people on bicycles, motorcycles, scooters and a variety of other mobility vehicles.
Paris is already a red zone, along with the southern part of Bouches-du-Rhône, where France’s second city Marseille made masks mandatory on Wednesday night.
The entire inner ring is now also a red zone, along with a wide extension of the southern coastline and the Gironde area around Bordeaux.
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Masks will also become part of the normal life for French schoolchildren aged 11 and older. The World Health Organization has recommended the use of masks at school from the age of 12. Masks are already mandatory in most enclosed public spaces and will be mandatory in workplaces from next month.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Olivier Véran has promised to increase Covid tests to reach one million tests a week in September, with the aim of making them available to “everyone who needs one and everyone who wants one”.
What has Germany decided?
Masks are also an important part of Germany’s tougher restrictions aimed at limiting a renewed rise in cases. Although Germany has not seen the scale of Covid-related deaths like many other Western European countries, the federal government and 16 states have reached a draft agreement on new measures:
- A minimum of € 50 (£ 45) fine will be imposed on anyone who breaks face covering rules – in shops, public transport or anywhere else; but one state in the northwest still holds against a fine
- Major events will be banned until the end of the year, although regions are exempt if they have a low infection rate and participants are restricted to those areas
- This means that there is a small chance that spectators will return to Bundesliga football matches
- There will be an end to free tests for holidaymakers returning from high school after 15 September. Such travelers have to isolate themselves for 14 days.
Health Minister Jens Spahn states that German labs should reach capacity and tests should be more focused. But Volkmar Weckesser, whose company Centogene tests do at Frankfurt airport, told the BBC that “we are not even close to reaching capacity”.
- Germany expands coronavirus top-up scheme
- Germany puts on full concerts to study Covid
Meanwhile, a group called “Querdenken” (Think Out of the Box) is protesting against a Berlin ban on a march on Saturday against Covid-19 restrictions. The protest has already seen 22,000 people sign up. A march on August 1 drew about 20,000 people, consisting mainly of Covid deniers and far-right activists.
