To the obligation to wear a mask in large cities, which satisfies 76% of French people according to a recent survey, is added, from tomorrow Tuesday September 1, the obligation to wear it at work. To this basic health rule are added exceptions for specific trades, such as in garages, workshops or in well-ventilated places with enough space.
- In well-ventilated places with sufficient physical distance or plexiglass, employees will be able to remove their masks.
- Certain specific professions, in particular those involving physical activity, may be exempt from this obligation if they respect the distances and are sufficiently ventilated.
- 8 out of 10 French people say they are worried about the overall health situation.
The start of the school year will be hidden. Starting tomorrow, Tuesday 1er September, the start of the school year, wearing a mask becomes compulsory at work. This decision was announced by Élisabeth Borne, the Minister of Labour, Employment and Integration, on August 18 during a meeting with the social partners. This decision was justified by an opinion, issued in mid-August, by the High Council for Public Health (HCSP), which proposed to systematize the wearing of masks in closed and shared work spaces to fight against the resurgence of coronavirus during the summer.
Telework, a recommended practice
To the obligation in principle to wear a mask in business, Élisabeth Borne mentioned “common sense exception”, this Sunday, August 30 at BFM-TV. For the moment, the criteria for these derogations remain unclear and the Minister of Labor must meet the social partners to clarify them. “We will identify with the social partners” the “activities which, by nature, are hardly compatible with wearing a mask. We will look at the answers we can provide“, she said on the set of BFM TV. In addition to these measures,working from home remains a recommended practice, especially in areas where the virus is circulating a lot”, she recalled.
@BFMPOLITICS | #COVID19 To allow a return to work with confidence, wearing a mask is compulsory in the workplace from September 1.
In some cases, relaxations are possible. We will discuss it tomorrow with the social partners. pic.twitter.com/6XI5yrBlly
— Elisabeth BORNE (@Elisabeth_Borne) August 30, 2020
Some initial clarifications concerning the exceptions were mentioned by the Minister. This particularly concerns opera singers who have already been made aware that they would be exempt from wearing the mask. For the others, the Minister relies on the recommendations of the HCSP. This last “has defined a series of measures on ventilation, volumes of spaces, plexiglass protections, distance between colleagues”, enumerated Elisabeth Borne. Very well ventilated premises, with sufficient physical distance between colleagues or with Plexiglas plates will be able to “at certain times of the day, remove the mask”. However, “in circulations, meeting rooms, you must wear a mask”, she added. Workshops and garages where “you have to make physical efforts” with sufficient ventilation and distancing are also affected by the mask-wearing exception.
The French worried about the future
In addition to the workplace, wearing a mask has become widespread in the main cities of France. A measure well received by the French as revealed an Odoxa-Dentsu Consulting survey for Franceinfo and Le Figaropublished Sunday, August 30. In total, 76% of respondents indicated that they were in favor of extending the wearing of masks outdoors to fight against Covid-19. Among them, 44% say they are “quite favorable” and 32% “rather favorable”. In the other camp, 15% meant to be “rather opposite” and 9% “completely opposite”.
In this same poll, the French shared their concern about the future. They are 8 out of 10 to have indicated that they do not feel calm about the overall health situation, 71% say they are worried about their loved one and 55% for themselves. The economic situation is also frightening since 81% of French people say they are pessimistic about economic growth in France and 80% about purchasing power, ie respectively 4 points and 2 points more than in July. A pessimism that overflows on the policies to which the French are a majority to no longer trust to put the country in the right economic direction. They are 54% not to believe in Jean Castex to propose a good recovery plan, which will be unveiled this Thursday, September 3.
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