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LATEST: Where in France masks in primary schools are no longer mandatory

The Local France
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LATEST: Where in France masks in primary schools are no longer mandatory
Pupils walk upstairs to go to their classroom at the Europeen school of Strasbourg, eastern France, on September 1, 2020 at the start of the new school year amid the Covid-19 epidemic. - French pupils go back to school on September 1 as schools across Europe open their doors to greet returning pupils this month, nearly six months after the coronavirus outbreak forced them to close and despite rising infection rates across the continent. (Photo by FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP)

The majority of primary school children in France no longer need to wear masks in class, after the government expanded again the list of areas where masks are no longer obligatory as Covid case numbers continue to fall.

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The French government announced the lifting of the mask rule in 47 départements from October 4th, followed by another 21 départements from October 11th and 12 more from Monday, October 18th.

In total 79 of France's 101 mainland and overseas départements will no longer have a classroom mask mandate for primary school children - but the département of Lozère has reintroduce the mask rule after a rise in the incidence rate.

The mask rule for children in primary schools can be lifted once départements have a stable incidence rate of less than 50 cases per 100,000 people.

Map of incidence rates in France, with areas of a rate lower than 50 per 100,000 people shown in green. Map: Covidtracker

Here are the areas affected;

Lifted mask rule from October 18th

Ain
Ariège
Charente
Cher
Drôme
Gard
Hérault
Moselle
Haut-Rhin
Var
Haute-Vienne
Seine-et-Marne

Lifted the rule on October 11th

Hautes-Alpes
Aube
Haute-Corse
Doubs
Eure-et-Loir
Haute-Garonne
Gironde
Ille-et-Vilaine
Lot
Lot-et-Garonne
Nord
Oise
Puy-de-Dôme
Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Hautes-Pyrénées
Pyrénées-Orientales
Bas-Rhin
Savoie
Territoire de Belfort
and the overseas French territories of La Réunion and Mayotte

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Lifted the rule on October 4th

Aisne, Allier, Ardennes, Aveyron, Calvados, Cantal, Charente-Maritime, Corrèze, Côte-d’Or, Côtes-d’Armor, Creuse, Deux-Sèvres, Dordogne, Eure, Finistère, Gers, Haute-Loire, Haute-Marne, Haute-Saône, Indre, Indre-et-Loire, Isère, Landes, Loir-et-Cher, Loire, Loire-Atlantique, Loiret, Lozère (but will reimpose the rule on October 18th), Maine-et-Loire, Manche, Marne, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Meuse, Morbihan, Nièvre, Orne, Pas-de-Calais, Saône-et-Loire, Sarthe, Seine-Maritime, Somme, Tarn, Tarn-et-Garonne, Vendée, Vienne, Vosges and Yonne.

The French government is also discussing the idea of scrapping the health passport in areas that have low incidence rates, or by sector, although this has so far not been confirmed.

Pupils at collège and lycée will continue to wear masks in class in all areas, while teachers are also obliged to continue wearing masks.

The education ministry is also running a trial on not sending home primary school pupils in classes where one pupil has tested positive, following a steady decline in reported cases in schools.

Classes in collège and lycée - where pupils are old enough to be vaccinated - already stay open after a positive test, with only the unvaccinated pupils sent home, while vaccinated youngsters continue to learn in the classroom.

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