Since the lifting of sanitary measures, on March 14, Sofia does not really know on which foot to dance. “I had understood that it was necessary to put a mask in transport, but I have the impression that in other places, like the pharmacy, it is necessary to continue to wear it. So I always have one on me and I watch what people are doing before I come in.” confides this Parisian lawyer.
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For Camille, on the other hand, the rules are clear. “In transport, medical offices, analysis laboratories and pharmacies, we put it. Elsewhere, we do not put it “, spells out this milf. But the practice turns out to be complicated: “I always have doubts in small shops. Wouldn’t the salesperson prefer that I put on my mask, and wouldn’t that be better for me too? »
To wear the mask or not? Even health professionals are hesitant. Required in hospitals and doctors’ surgeries, it is not mandatory in pharmacies. “We did not have clear instructions”, raises Fabien Dutet, pharmacist in Mayenne. In his pharmacy, around sixty people are tested every day, half of whom are positive for Covid. The pharmacist and his three collaborators therefore continue to cover their nose and mouth, but do not require customers to do so. “About three out of four return masked”, he believes.
Doubt and caution
When in doubt, many French people have not changed their habits: while a majority of them approve of the end of the compulsory mask, three quarters say they continue to wear them in shops, according to a YouGov poll for Le Huffington Post. The same caution applies in business, where 68% of employees have not abandoned it.
These do not let their guard down, for fear of catching the virus or contaminating those around them. Or because they can’t get rid of what has become a reflex. “I prefer to continue as before, even if it did not prevent me from catching the Covid three times”, confides a resident of the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, who anticipates: “Better not to lose the habit: with the increase in contamination, the mask could become compulsory again. »
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“In the meantime, it’s anarchy”, deplores Anne-Marie Moulin, doctor and philosopher. For this emeritus research director at the CNRS, two categories of people stand out: on the one hand, “careful”, who continue to «Emmitoufler» in all circumstances ; on the other, the least worried or even the “lax”, “who pack like sardines in closed places”.
A broken social contract
From an epidemiological point of view, this two-speed practice which imperfectly blocks the virus is of little interest, according to Michèle Legeas, teacher at the School of Advanced Studies in Public Health. “A person who wears the mask can become contaminated if his interlocutor does not have one”, recalls this specialist in health risk management, for whom a form of social contract has been broken: “The idea that one does not only wear the mask for oneself but also for others has withered away. »
At the risk, points out Anne-Marie Moulin, of creating « frictions », after months of invective between pro- and anti-vaccines. “The relaxation of barrier gestures could have been a moment of lightness and cohesion, instead of which it fuels divisions”, regret the philosopher.
The doxa now leaning towards a form of carelessness, “Social pressure has changed sides, notes Michèle Legeas. Before, we looked askance at the person who did not wear a mask; today, she is the one who continues to put it on”. Results, “some people feel compelled to remove it so as not to come across as nerdy or people unable to profit”, summarizes the teacher.
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A “stigma” that Tiphaine Mary says she feels. In court, this Parisian lawyer suffering from an autoimmune disease never leaves her FFP2 mask. “The fact that most of my brothers and sisters take it off doesn’t bother me. What bothers me is having to justify myself, she explains. As if seeing me with a mask spoiled the pleasure of taking it off. »
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Cases rise, hospitalizations stabilize
According to Public Health France, 110,174 new cases of coronaviruses were recorded between March 26 and 27.
The overall incidence rate jumped 42% in one week, with an average of 1,237 positive cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
6-14 year olds and 30-49 year olds are the most affected, but the circulation of the virus is accelerating among 60-89 year olds (+ 45% between March 14 and 20).
However, new hospitalizations remain stable, while critical care admissions drop by nearly 10%.
20,606 patients are hospitalized, including 1,486 in critical care or intensive care.