Yasmina Kattou, edited by Sonia Chemaa 2:09 p.m., December 27, 2021
The outdoor mask is again compulsory in some French departments.
Its generalization on the territory should be approached this afternoon in health defense council.
Nothing is ruled out in an attempt to curb the very strong propagation of the Omicron variant.
This would involve imposing the mask outdoors, where it is not possible to maintain a sufficient safety distance in city centers, for example.
A measure that should be discussed this Monday afternoon, during the health defense council.
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Outside, the mask "has no interest"
Still, for the epidemiologist Didier Pittet, if this measure is useful, it remains insufficient.
"The main thing is obviously to respect the barrier measures in general, that is to say hand hygiene, social distance. That means that we can not, nor shake hands or kissing. The mask has an interest when social distance cannot be respected. Outside, it has no interest, "said the professor.
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For his part, Philippe Amouyel, epidemiologist at the Lille CHRU, recalls that it is above all necessary to wear the mask in an intelligent way when you are outdoors, such as for example in a shopping center or in a very busy street.
But for the professor, imposing the mask outdoors is above all "a message to the population".
"It may be more of a message to alert the population by saying that we are in a serious phase and that it is important to resume barrier measures by imposing them on the outside."
Change mask every 4 hours
The ideal outside, even with a mask on the nose, would therefore be to respect a distance of at least one meter to avoid any contamination.
Experts recommend changing your mask every four hours to keep it effective.