Coronavirus: the world runs after masks

Masked passers-by in Yaba (Lagos) on February 28, 2020 (illustration image). PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP

Text by: Bruno Faure Follow

Should you systematically cover your face to fight the Covid-19? In many countries, the official discourse has changed, resulting in a global race to buy surgical masks.

Publicity

Read more

It is France which, this Saturday, April 4, set foot on the accelerator. The Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, announces that nearly two billion masks have been ordered in China. 500,000 must be delivered every day to nursing staff. Other orders are in progress. The Minister acknowledges that there were " eternal logistical problems ". An airlift is being set up with the support of specialized groups, such as CMA-CGM which, via its logistics subsidiary CEVA, announces the charter of an aircraft containing 16 million masks and medical equipment for communities local authorities, hospitals, nursing homes and businesses needing materials to fight the new coronavirus. The aircraft is scheduled to arrive at Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle airport on Monday, April 6. Two weekly flights are planned with China.

The world is tearing them away

Deliveries of masks are sometimes negotiated directly on airport tarmacs, even if it means paying three times the initial price. This is what happened in China according to several presidents of French regions. The masks ordered by France were reportedly bought by unidentified American buyers. France itself had requisitioned at the beginning of March a Swedish cargo of 4 million units intended mainly for Italy and Spain, in the name of a regulation authorizing it to seize on its territory any product can help stop the spread of Covid-19 . Sweden had expressed dissatisfaction. Stockholm now claims that export restrictions have been lifted. " This means that vital equipment in the fight against the new coronavirus can now be distributed in the rest of the European Union, " said the Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Western flip-flops

The subject is sensitive in France in view of the criticisms suffered by the government for its contradictory messages on the wearing of masks. Especially since France has, over the years, lost its production capacity. Today, everyone, industry and even individuals, is encouraged to make it, even in a traditional way via tutorials that can be found on the internet. France is not the only one to turn around. In Germany for example, in the United Kingdom, in the United States, and in Ivory Coast since last night, the health authorities advise citizens to cover their faces when they go out. " It is necessary to wear a mask ," said director general of Ivorian health Mamadou Samba on public television. " We should wear the mask, because many of us do not respect social distancing ." The mask is mandatory in supermarkets in several countries in Europe and Asia. The not yet scientifically proven hypothesis of contamination by air is gaining ground.

Read also: Coronavirus: the masks of the Hebron shoemaker

Newsletter With the Daily Newsletter, find the headlines directly in your mailbox

Subscribe

Follow all international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

  • France
  • Economy
  • Coronavirus
  • Health and Medicine
  • Containment