Children and masks: what are the rules in France?

The government yesterday (July 16) announced that wearing masks would become compulsory in all public enclosed spaces from the beginning of next week. This ruling will also affect certain children, depending on their age.

It will be mandatory for all children of collège age (11 or 12) and above to wear masks when in enclosed public spaces, following the same rules as adults. Any child younger than this will not be required by law to wear masks in public settings.

Enclosed public spaces would include such spaces as supermarkets and other shops, public areas of hotels, or public services like post offices, mairies and prefectures.

As with adults, older children are permitted to wear homemade masks, as long as they conform to standards set by the Association Française de Normalisation (AFNOR).

For children at the age of école élémentaire (6 - 11), the current advice of the French government is that wearing masks is not recommended, however, if a child of that age is at school and begins to display symptoms of Covid-19 then they should wear a mask while they wait to leave the school.

For children at the age of école maternelle (3 - 5), wearing masks is prohibited, except in the case that a child at school is displaying symptoms of the virus and then they too should wear a mask while waiting to leave the school.

For children under the age of three, wearing masks is completely forbidden.

In France, there has been a very low rate of infection in children from Covid-19.

In April, Le Journal Des Femmes reported that less than 1.5% of cases reported in France related to people aged 0 - 19.

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