France's Top Health Advisory Body Argues For Mask Wear In Crowded Outdoor Spaces

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th August, 2020) France's High Council for Public Health (HCSP), a body advising the health minister, has recommended that masks be worn in crowded places, including outdoors.

"HCSP recommends that the general public systematically wear masks, preferably made from reusable tissue... in closed public and private collective spaces as well as when large numbers of people are present outdoors," it said in an updated advisory.

With coronavirus cases rising in France, concerns have been mounting that return to workplaces has spurred a rebound in the epidemic after the country exited the nationwide lockdown in May.

Use of masks has been made mandatory in outdoor spaces in Paris, Marseilles, Nice, Lille and Bordeaux. France has so far confirmed more than 212,000 cases and 30,406 virus-related deaths.