Corona-virus. Should we impose the wearing of masks in public spaces?
As the relaxation of barrier gestures becomes widespread and the virus continues to circulate in the world, the question of imposing the wearing of masks in public space arise again.
“I am struck by the relaxation of part of the
French population, not respecting hand washing, wearing a mask or distancing." These words are signed by Professor Jean-François Delfraissy. The President of the Scientific Council is alarmed
by the gradual abandonment of barrier gestures while the
coronavirus continues to circulate and the
possibility of a second wave of epidemic is becoming more and more certain. To try to contain it, the hypothesis,
previously rejected by the government, to impose
the wearing of the mask in public space is again on the table. But then,
should we really impose it on the population?
Imposing the mask,
a symbol more than a utility
For Catherine
Hill, a retired epidemiologist who works on the Covid-19 epidemic,
this is clearly not a priority: "to impose the wearing of
the mask in public space, it will annoy everyone and it will not walk too
much."
Making this decision would be more cosmetic and symbolic than
anything else, she said. Everyone would have their mask outdoors but in
meals with friends or family vacations, the masks would be quickly abandoned. "In
dense public spaces like markets, for example, this is justified but otherwise,
outdoors it does not make much sense," said Catherine
Hill.
Like the government, she considers that the mask cannot be the panacea and must be seen as one of the barrier gestures with physical distancing and regular hand washing. She would however see a real interest in imposing the mask in closed spaces.
"Tests are much more important than masks"
If the mask
is not the solution, what to do to counter a second wave? The epidemiologist in
his opinion on the matter." The most important thing is to find
out where the virus is circulating. " To
find out, you have to test massively. Currently, the capacity is
700,000 tests per week but only 450,000 are carried out.
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