They will be compulsory from Monday in public transport under penalty of a fine of 135 euros, and recommended in public space. The masks are the object of all attention, each of us wants to get them. Friday, the government wanted to be reassuring, and assured that there would be something for everyone. But at what cost ?
In total, ten million masks will be distributed in the metro, buses, trams and trains to allow time for each French to equip. Others will be distributed by businesses or town halls, or even to agents of public state services, college students (the only ones for whom wearing a mask is compulsory), and people in precarious situations.
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Tobacconists, mass distribution, pharmacists ...
Out of these distributions, it will of course be possible to buy them in authorized stores. On the occasion of a press point organized Friday at the Ministry of the Interior, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Secretary of State to the Minister of the Economy, made a point of taking stock of the availability of these masks and the cost that they represent for consumers.
"It will depend on the equipment that each trader has made," she said, adding that "this week already, one tobacconist in two could sell masks". All the mass-market stores had masks in limited quantities, but will have more the week of May 11. They "have been arriving by plane since Wednesday," said the secretary of state. Finally, pharmacies have "small stocks" which will also increase.
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Reasonable cost estimated based on the number of washes
A total of 150 million surgical masks and 50 million washable "general public" masks are planned. Half will be reserved for nursing staff. If the price of surgical masks is now capped at 0.95 euros, that of "general public" masks is not framed. The reasonable cost is however estimated based on the number of washes, ranging between 0.20 and 0.30 euros per wash.
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