(Paris) The mask becomes mandatory in the streets of Paris from Friday to face the “tidal wave” of the Omicron variant which has led to an outbreak of COVID-19 contaminations in France, the police headquarters announced on Wednesday from the capital.
This obligation applies to people over 11 years old, “with the exception of people moving inside vehicles, cyclists and users of two wheels” or “people practicing a sporting activity”, specified the prefecture in a press release.
Wearing a mask will also be compulsory in places open to the public in Paris, “with the exception of the Bois de Boulogne and Vincennes, and on the rights-of-way of the airports of Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Bourget and Paris-Orly” , according to the press release.
Access to the terminals of these airports remains prohibited for people accompanying passengers, added the prefecture.
“Regular and reinforced controls will be put in place from Friday”, she also indicated, “in particular in the dense places of the capital”.
Violators may be fined 135 euros (195 Canadian dollars).
At the same time, the prefecture announced the closure of drinking establishments on Saturday and Sunday from 2 am, also prohibiting “all dance activities in all establishments open to the public”.
Nightclubs, closed since December 10, will have to keep their doors closed for three more weeks in January.
Gatherings of people giving rise to the consumption of alcohol on public roads are also prohibited in Paris.
Nearly 9,000 police and soldiers will be mobilized to enforce these measures during the night of New Year’s Eve.
In the rest of Ile-de-France, the prefectures have reimposed the obligation to wear a mask outside from Friday in all the departments of Val-d’Oise, Hauts-de-Seine and Val-de-Marne, as well as in the towns of Essonne and the city centers of the towns of Yvelines.
France records records for COVID-19 contamination with 208,000 new cases on Wednesday, after around 180,000 during the previous twenty-four hours.