France to Allow 'No Mask' Indoors Once ICU Patients Drop Below 2,000

On the 12th of last month (local time), citizens in Paris, France, lined up in front of a COVID-19 testing center. [Image source=Yonhap News]

France has set a policy to ease restrictions "when the number of patients admitted to intensive care units due to COVID-19 decreases to around 1,000 to 2,000."

According to the French daily newspaper Le Monde on the 17th (local time), Olivier V?ran, the Minister of Health, met with reporters in Nice, southern France, and mentioned essential conditions for removing the indoor mask mandate and the COVID-19 vaccine pass system.

Minister V?ran explained that to stop wearing masks indoors and to discontinue the use of the COVID-19 vaccine pass, the pressure COVID-19 places on hospitals must disappear.

He added that if the number of COVID-19 patients admitted to intensive care units remains between 1,000 and 2,000, it can be interpreted as a sign that resuming normal daily activities is possible.

As of this date, 29,843 patients are receiving treatment for COVID-19 in French hospitals, of whom 3,055 are in intensive care units.

The daily average number of new COVID-19 cases over the past seven days is 99,480, dropping below 100,000 for the first time this year.

The French government plans to lift the mask mandate in places where the COVID-19 vaccine pass is checked starting February 28. However, masks will still be required on public transportation and in places where the vaccine pass is not checked.

The COVID-19 vaccine pass can be used until July this year under current law, but the government intends to abolish it as soon as the situation improves.

France has recorded a total of 22,068,635 confirmed COVID-19 cases, ranking fourth worldwide, and 136,142 cumulative deaths, ranking 11th globally.

In France, 79.1% of the total population has completed COVID-19 vaccination, and 57.1% have received booster shots.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.