Masks mandatory outdoors in more places in France from today

The new decree was taken in Mayenne this Saturday, August 1. It applies to anyone aged 11 and over, with the exception of sports.

So far, only four municipalities in the department had made the mask compulsory everywhere – including outside. The rule now applies to 69 municipalities – out of 261. Gatherings of more than 10 people are also prohibited.

These include Laval, Mayenne, Evron, Craon, Renazé, Pays de Château-Gontier and Ernée.

The department has seen several new clusters of the virus in recent weeks. The prefect talked about “the epidemiological situation in the department” and “the active propagation of the virus”.

In its latest daily update (published Friday, July 31), the local health authority the Regional Health Agency (ARS) of Pays de la Loire had recorded 1,106 confirmed cases of Covid-19.

Luc Duquesnel, general practitioner in Mayenne and president of the CSMF generalist union (Confederation of Medical Unions Français), said last week: “It’s a race against time, we cannot contain the spread of the virus.”

Belgium has also banned “non-essential” travel between Mayenne (and some other parts of France) and its own country, as it is fighting a new wave of cases, particularly in the city of Antwerp.

Read more: Belgium bans “non-essential” travel from certain regions of France

Public service media FranceInfo published a map showing the affected locations (below, see more here).

Elsewhere in France, Prime Minister Jean Castex is today (Monday 3 August) visiting Lille because he also imposes the wearing of the compulsory mask in public places in certain parts of the city, due to an increase in cases virus there.

The Lille metropolitan area, which has 95 municipalities and 1.2 million inhabitants, has experienced a “worrying” increase in cases, the level of incidence having almost doubled in one week, reaching 31 people per 100,000 inhabitants. In the heart of the city, the level even reached 40 people, approaching ever closer to the alert level “50”.

The Nord department (Hauts-de-France) has also announced that some outdoor public spaces there – especially those that are likely to see crowds of people – will require masks.

Wearing a mask is also compulsory in certain outdoor spaces in Nice (Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur) from today, with fines of € 35 for people who do not comply.

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