COVID MASK. From Monday March 14, 2022, wearing a mask will no longer be compulsory in business, announced the Minister of Labor Elisabeth Borne. In all closed places, the health protocol will be lifted, with the exception of transport.
[Mis à jour le 8 mars 2022 à 17h55] This is almost the last step in lifting health restrictions. From Monday March 14, 2022, except in public transport where proximity requires caution, wearing a mask will no longer be compulsory indoors. This announcement therefore concerns companies, as Elisabeth Borne said on LCI on Tuesday March 8, but also schools, colleges and high schools, as Jean Castex announced on March 4. These provisions are part of the continuity of the lifting of restrictions, the wearing of a mask is no longer compulsory in places subject to the vaccination pass, such as restaurants, cinemas, theaters, concert halls, since February 28.
In recent weeks, health indicators have been trending downwards, while hospitalizations due to Covid-19 continue their downward curve. The government therefore acted accordingly by announcing the end of the anti-Covid tool. If we will therefore be able to “resume the normal rules in business”, the Minister of Labor however stressed that it would be necessary “to continue to apply the rules of hygiene”, such as washing hands, cleaning surfaces and the ventilation of the premises. She also gave details on telework which, according to her, now depends on the goodwill of the company which sets the rules defined in the “social dialogue”. Finally, it is useful to note that the national protocol currently in force in companies will be replaced by a “guide to measures to prevent the risks of contamination with Covid-19 outside an epidemic situation”, which the Minister should share with the social partners very soon.
Reactions to the announcement of the measure
With the presidential election approaching, the easing of standards has both health and political aims. Everything is a question of timing, the lifting of the wearing of the mask and the suspension of the health pass being decided during the Health Defense Council of March 2, the day before the formalization of the candidacy of Emmanuel Macron in a letter to the French. A strategy that some are indignant about, like Florian Philippot, of the Les Patriotes party, who responds to the announcement on Twitter with “it just smells like the election campaign!”, before adding “If Macron passes in April , we will have the return of the Vaccinal Pass in July!” or Jean-Frédéric Poisson, president of the Christian Democratic party “VIA, the voice of the people”, who considers this announcement “calculated according to the electoral calendar”, in a tweet this March 3. For others however, strategy or not, this announcement is very good news. In particular for those who pleaded for the end of the wearing of the mask, like the epidemiologist Alice Desbiolles who, in an interview granted to Doctissimo in early February, explained that the misdeeds of wearing masks, increasingly documented, impacted “the mental health of children which is deteriorating”, comments confirmed by his colleague, emergency doctor Gérald Kierzek in a tweet on February 7.
In a press release dated February 11, 2022, the Ministry of Health indicated that “in other closed places, subject to the vaccination pass, wearing a mask will no longer be compulsory”, from February 28. These are:
- theaters
- theme parks
- concert halls
- festivals
- sports halls
- sports speakers
- game rooms
- libraries
- documentation centers
- cinemas
- bars
- restaurants
- fairs
- trade shows
- professional seminars if they take place outside the company and bring together more than 50 people;
- ski lifts in ski resorts
- access to tourist accommodation such as campsites or holiday clubs with a single check at the start of the stay.
- Schools, holiday centers and leisure centres. Wearing a compulsory mask will no longer concern educational, educational and training establishments; holiday centres; leisure centers without accommodation for adult teachers and supervisors.
- In the enterprises
- Shops. Sales outlets, shopping centers and covered markets will no longer be affected by the wearing of compulsory masks.
If the mask can now be dropped in many places, it remains mandatory indoors in some areas of daily life:
- Transport. Trains, subways, buses, bus and ferry stations as well as airports.
- hospitals and health facilities
Companies are subject to wearing a mandatory mask via a health protocol defined by the Ministry of Labor. This document indicates that “following the update of scientific knowledge on the transmission of the virus by aerosols and taking into account the recommendations of the HCSP dated August 28, 2020 and January 14, 18 and 20, 2021, the wearing of a mask is systematic within companies in closed collective places. It is either a “general public filtration greater than 90%” mask (corresponding to the so-called “category 1″ mask), or a surgical type mask”. Exceptions are provided for, such as in individual offices, well-ventilated workshops or when the work is carried out outdoors.
The mask is no longer a mandatory outdoor accessory since February 2 and the first wave of lifting of restrictions. It is no longer compulsory but it remains recommended and the government is appealing to the logic of the French to reconnect with the wearing of a mask in very busy places.
The fine in force in the event of non-compliance with the wearing of the compulsory mask should remain at 135 euros. “Failure to comply with this measure could be liable, as is the case in other places where wearing a mask is compulsory, in particular transport, to a 4th class fine” defined by a fixed fine of 135 euros , had specified the general directorate of health as soon as this measure was put in place last year. In case of recidivism, the amount can go up to 1500 euros.