Mandatory facemasks for all now. This is what the Academy of Medicine demanded the government in a nutshell this Wednesday April 22, 2020. While the executive is slow to address facemask issues, the institution puts its foot in and alerts on the danger of a late decision. According to them “an average recommendation cannot be enough, each one of us should consider themselves potential carrier of the virus and contagious, even in good health”.
For the scientists, it’s more about not leaving any more minute to the virus to spread again. They insist on the fact that “waiting until May 11 to make French wear a facemask is giving three more weeks of rest to the virus”. As of today, the government is still working on mask stock while the Île-de-France region and the City of Paris promise to give enough masks to protect the population from health risks.
At the same time, the Academy of Medicine warns that “restraining facemasks to public transit is neglecting all public spaces where there are risks”. The institution goes beyond by saying “subordinating this obligation to free masks from the State is comforting the population in a situation of assistance and deresponsibilization”. They conclude by reminding it’s “possible in each and every families to make cloth facemasks with customary and cheap fabrics”. That is to believe the Academy appeals to common sense rather than concrete action from the government.
