As the health pass is instated from Wednesday July 21 in a certain number of places welcoming less than 50 people, a decree issued this July 20 in the Journal Officiel says compulsory facemask-wearing is to be lifted for people in places subject to the health pass.
The news has been confirmed this Tuesday by Health Minister Olivier Véran. "Where there is the health pass, we are sure everyone is fully vaccinated or have a negative recent PCR test", it will be possible to remove facemasks, he said on RTL. With the health pass "you will no longer have the necessity or have to wear a mask", he added.
But careful though, the softening only applies to customers and clients in these places subject to the health pass. Employees working there will have to continue to wear a mask. As French Labor Minister told AFP, "facemask-wearing remains the rule in companies. The pass being compulsory from August 30 for employees, it is now not considered not to do it for employees".
Earlier in July, on France Inter, Elisabeth Borne quickly put an end to hope some people might have: "So far, there is no prospect stopping facemask-wearing in companies. It will be assessed depening on the health situation and vaccination", she claimed on July 1. Facemask-wearing stays compulsory in closed places such as open spaces this Fall. Complying with social distancing, and stayine one meter apart from colleagues is still a must.
Restrictions start to feel heavy on the shoulders of employees. According to a survey released this Monday October 4 and carried out by Ipsos-Sopra Steria for Le Parisien, 74% of employees are for the end of facemask-wearing within companies. This percentage goes up to 80% in middle managers and 79% in laborers.
People surveyed no longer fear the virus enough to keep complying with a facemask all day. For 83% of the surveyed, employers have instated enough measures for employees to feel protected against the virus.
To finally ditch the mask, 67% of people say are ready to generalize the use of the health pass to all companies.
"We are in the logic of what had been announced by Emmanuel Macron this past July: vaccinees do not have to comply with the constraints created by those against. Fear has considerably surged back since the beginning of the pandemic, and the lower it goes, the more weariness there is for many of these restrictions", Ipsos France CEO Brice Teinturier told Le Parisien.
