While the Prime Minister, Edouard Philippe, must detail on Tuesday what the life of the French will look like after May 11, the Secretary of State for the Economy, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, took stock on Monday on the masks which France has so far been missed. According to her, the Hexagon has gone into high gear regarding their production. "Starting next week, we will produce and import 26 million consumer masks each week, and 31 million the week after," she said on BFMTV on Monday.
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How many masks will there be?
It will take time to prime the pump and build up stocks. These fabric masks, washable up to 20 or even 50 times, are now produced by 250 French textile factories. Around May 11, it will release nearly 40 million per week, a production multiplied by ten in a month and a half. And since the products are reusable, this represents the equivalent of 750 million masks per week, not counting the surgical masks imported by companies, town halls and regions.
It remains to be seen whether this will be enough. When everyone can circulate again, it will take between 800 million and 1 billion each week, according to estimates. So it will be fair but it should be fine, says the executive.
What level of protection for fabric masks?
"General public" masks are studied to filter at least 70% of the particles which can carry the virus, but if the person in front of us also wears a mask, the protection goes up to 90% of filtration. Designed in different fabrics, they all meet a filtration and breathability objective and are moreover tested and certified by the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA). As of April 24, 150 companies have already been approved to produce the masks.
Consumer masks are fabric masks, most often washable and reusable.
✅ They respect the specifications of @ ansm and @ AFNOR
✅ They filter at least 70% and up to more than 90% of particles of 3 microns and more
cc @UITFrancehttps: //t.co/KQiPSUYK0U
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How much will it cost to get it?
Available in most pharmacies, the masks carry a logo attesting to the quality of the filtration and explain the number of washings (at 60 degrees) that they can withstand. Soon, these will also be sold by tobacconists, supermarkets, DIY stores, but also town halls which will, for some, distribute them for free. The tobacconists, them, have already announced that they would sell them from Thursday for the sum of 5 euros.
Will there be price controls? For the moment, the question is not settled, but the direction of the repression of the frauds was seized by the government. Objective: that these masks are within everyone's reach. "What is interesting is the price for using this mask. If you have a mask at 4 euros reusable 20 times, it gives you a price of 20 cents per use," said Monday evening on Europe 1 Agnes Pannier-Runacher.
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"We are working to be able to offer accessible masks for families on a low budget and we will soon have proposals in this direction," also explained the secretary of state, referring to the date of "the weekend" for these proposals.