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In France, there will be mandatory oral protection for everyone moving in public transport and for high school students moving in school. In addition, store owners are given the right to refuse customers to enter the store if they do not protect their nose and mouth.

There are new requirements that will be introduced as the country begins to release other restrictions as of May 11, reports the BBC among others.

In Belgium, similar rules will be introduced on 4 May and in the European superpower Germany, with a total of 83 million inhabitants, there will be oral protection requirements as of this week.

The countries are thus joining the growing crowd of European nations that are opting for masking as part of the corona fight.

However, so far no requirement has been imposed on the public in Sweden or other Nordic countries to wear oral protection in society.

Anders Tegnell, state epidemiologist at the Public Health Authority, cannot say whether the view of knowledge about the effectiveness of oral protection differs between different countries.

- But the scientific knowledge about this is very limited. There is some science that indicates that if you are very ill, you can protect your environment by wearing a mouthguard, he says and continues:

- This is probably where we from Sweden think it will be wrong. We say that if you become the least ill, you should stay home, not put on a mouthguard and go out.

He also points out that there are no studies that show that mouth protection prevents the user from being infected by others.

- In summary, in the Swedish context, a recommendation to use oral protection is not good advice, says Anders Tegnell.

A more general objection to the mask is that it can create false security in the population. According to the World Health Organization WHO, the mouth guard should never be seen as a full protection.

There is a risk that people who wear face masks will be worse off, for example, washing their hands in the belief that they are protected, and then the virus will spread after taking on contaminated surfaces in society.