From 1 October, primary school pupils in France will not have to wear masks at school. This was announced yesterday by government spokesman Gabriel Attal at a hearing before the Council of Ministers. The change will be applied in areas where the number of cases is low: those departments whose incidence in the last seven days is less than 50, will be included in the first level of the COVID-19 protocol and the use of a mask will not be mandatory in the classes.
The department of the Atlantic Pyrenees is still in the red zone. In Lapurdi, Baja Navarra and Zuberoa there are more than 50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. But it is expected that the figure will fall and that children will soon be able to benefit from more flexible health measures marking the first levels of the protocol.
Attal explained that the situation in Metropolitan France is better than in the overseas countries. However, for the time being, the health passport will be maintained throughout France: Regardless of the number of incidents, "it will apply under the same conditions".
In Hego Euskal Herria, the number of coronavirus cases is decreasing. The Instituto de Salud Pública y Laboral de Navarra (ISPLN) announced yesterday that the "epidemic circulation period" started last year has ended: last week's cumulative incidence has been 32.
In the CAV, for its part, the technical LABI will meet today to decide whether they will reduce the measures imposed by the pandemic. Commission Director Jonan Fernandez explained that significant changes could be made in early October if three requirements were met: Being less than 40 patients in ICUs, 90% of the population over 12 years of age is vaccinated and incidence rates continue to decrease.