France is “very likely” to make face masks compulsory on busy trains and buses, a minister indicated today.
Junior transport minister Jean-Baptiste Djebbari said authorities had yet to decide whether to require passengers to wear face masks, but added: “It is very likely that in tight spaces with a dense traffic, wearing face masks becomes compulsory… It is also very likely that masks become compulsory onboard planes.”
He made the comment on national TV as Paris announced plans to get more than two thirds of its transport network up and running by May 11, when France is set to end its lockdown. Half of the country’s high-speed TGV trains are expected to be running nationwide by then. Only six per cent are currently operating.
Shops across France are expected to reopen on May 11, but the government has ruled out restaurants, bars and cafés reopening immediately. France has suffered the world’s fourth-highest reported coronavirus death toll in excess of 21,000, with more than 158,000 confirmed cases.
President Emmanuel Macron met mayors yesterday to give some details on how the country will operate after 11 May, and announced the reopening of schools on the same date will be on a voluntary basis.
Meanwhile, Germany’s Robert Koch Institute said the number of daily coronavirus infections needed to fall to a few hundred per day before lockdown measures can be eased further. The number of confirmed cases rose by 2,337 today to 150,383.
By contrast, the Czech Republic has announced it is speeding up plans to relax its lockdown by two weeks. The government now wants to get all shops, restaurants and hotels running again by May 25.
