(Fighting New Coronary Pneumonia) French officials plan to implement mandatory wearing of masks in offices at the end of this month
China News Agency, Paris, August 16th (Reporter Li Yang) On the 16th local time, the number of new confirmed cases of new coronary pneumonia in France exceeded 3,000 in a single day for two consecutive days. In order to curb the worsening trend of the epidemic, French officials plan to further expand the scope of mandatory wearing of masks, and plans to implement mandatory wearing of masks in office places at the end of this month.
According to the epidemic data released by the French Ministry of Health that evening, France saw 3,015 new confirmed cases in a single day on the 16th, and more than 3,000 new cases in a single day for two consecutive days. In the past 7 days, the positive rate of the new coronavirus test in Paris has risen to 2.8%. The number of deaths from new coronary pneumonia in France is now 30,410.
The number of hospitalized patients with new coronary pneumonia in France continued to increase slowly. Among them, the number of hospitalized patients rose to 4860, an increase of 3 from the previous day; the number of severely ill patients remained at 376. The number of cluster infection cases under investigation increased to 263, with 17 new cases in a single day.
French Labor Minister Elizabeth Bohn frankly said on the 16th that the current epidemic data indicators are not good and must be dealt with. She said that it will be mandatory to wear masks in public office areas and conference rooms with poor ventilation.
Bohn said that the government plans to discuss in the next few days the implementation of the mandatory wearing of masks in office premises so that it can take effect at the end of this month. She also pointed out that almost all scientific opinions show that wearing a mask is very necessary when many people are in a confined space.
The French health department is also increasingly inclined to support the mandatory wearing of masks in office places, and agencies that provide health policy advice to the government recommend that masks must be worn in all "indoor spaces where many people live together." However, Bohn also said that it is not necessary to wear a mask in any office. For example, it may not be necessary for a person to work in a separate office.
Born also called on companies and enterprises to continue to observe various epidemic prevention measures to better protect the health and safety of employees, such as ensuring social distancing and continuing to recommend telecommuting, especially for the frail.
The latest poll released by the French Ifop polling agency on the 16th shows that 52% of the respondents believe that the French government can help companies get rid of the predicament caused by the epidemic; 41% of the respondents believe that the government is effectively responding to the epidemic. The poll also shows that 53% of respondents are most worried about the health risks associated with the epidemic, while 29% are most worried about economic risks. (Finish)