Relatively little affected by the wave of contaminations in the spring, the fourth largest city in France is taking the lead. To cope with the active circulation of the coronavirus, which has been on the rise in recent weeks, the prefecture of Haute-Garonne announced on Wednesday that wearing a mask would be mandatory from Friday morning throughout the town of Toulouse. The measure, valid for a month from 7 a.m. to 3 a.m., will also apply to people traveling by bike or scooter. At the microphone of Europe 1, Denis Olagnon, secretary general of the prefecture, defends a "readable and clear" measure.
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This measure, he recalls, was taken in view of the evolution of the health situation, while "the viral circulation has accelerated in a few weeks, exceeding the alert threshold in Toulouse", and that it is about "a diffuse circulation on the city". But is the obligation to wear a mask on a scooter or bicycle really justified, when many doctors see no use in it? "The choice is to take a readable and clear measure over the whole city", answers Denis Olagnon.
"I'm leaving my house, I'm wearing my mask"
"Simple. I leave my house, I wear my mask from 7 to 3 in the morning", illustrates the secretary general of the prefecture, insisting on the need for a measure "understandable and adapted to the epidemiological context". Wearing a mask is not compulsory in the car.
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The measure is due to come into force on Friday. "There will be a time, but short, for information and pedagogy. But it will be necessary to move quickly to verbalization if this is not respected", warns Denis Olagnon.