In Lille, the prefect makes wearing a mask compulsory in certain streets and green spaces

In the streets of Lille, Thursday July 30. DENIS CHARLET / AFP The prefect of the North announced on Friday July 31 that wearing a mask would be compulsory in public spaces from Monday in “a number of areas” of the Lille metropolis, due to an upsurge in the epidemic. Pedestrian streets, outdoor markets and green spaces in particular will be affected by the obligation to wear a mask. Since Friday, a decree has authorized prefects to make the mask compulsory “when local circumstances require”, “except in living quarters”. In the morning, the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, explained that this measure applied to “open public places”. “This decision can be made locally, depending on the evolution of the epidemic in each territory,” he added on Twitter. The objective of the measures taken in the Lille metropolis is “to impose in order not to reconfine”, the prefect of the North, Michel Lalande, said at a press conference in Lille. The prefectural decree will be “valid for one month” and “renewable”. Any violation will be punished with a fine of 135 euros. Article reserved for our subscribers “A euro a piece is too expensive”: households confronted with the “mask budget” A “resurgence” of the epidemic The ban will apply within “a certain number of zones “, such as” permanent or temporary pedestrian zones “,” zones where road traffic is limited to 20 km / h “, those” which are characterized by a very high traffic of the public “, such as certain shopping streets of Lille, or even “all urban green spaces, including the edges of watercourses”. “We are moving from insistent suggestion to mandatory imposition,” the prefect summed up. At his side, the director of ARS Hauts-de-France, Etienne Champion, reported “indicators” testifying to a “resurgence” of the Covid-19 epidemic in the metropolitan area, which has 1.2 million inhabitants. Local indicators show a progression of the epidemic in the metropolis, where “the incidence rate reached 31 per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 17 the previous week”, notes the director of the ARS. In the “heart of the metropolis” this rate is even “around 40, even closer to the alert threshold”, set at 50. An increase in these indicators has also been measured throughout the Nord department. classified in the so-called “moderate vulnerability” category, but in a lower proportion. Article reserved for our subscribers Coronavirus: the resumption of the number of positive cases in nursing homes, a “worrying signal” Le Monde with AFP streets