New French PM says masks mandatory next week

New French Prime Minister Jean Castex says masks will be mandatory in closed public places as of next week, sooner than August 1 as announced earlier by President Emmanuel Macron

The change in date comes as the Mayenne area of the Loire region has seen several COVID-19 outbreaks, and authorities have recorded a marginal increase in infections in the Paris region

Calling the situation in Mayenne “problematic,” French Health Minister Olivier Veran said he asked the prefect of Mayenne personally to make masks compulsory in closed public places without waiting for the later date.