French President Emmanuel Macron wore a sanitary mask again in public on Thursday and said it was necessary to “return to habits” in the face of a new outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic “on a voluntary basis”, according to Agerpres.

“I follow the recommendations of my minister,” the French president said alongside Health Minister Francois Brown, who also wore a face mask during a visit to Poitiers, a city in central-western France.

“In the face of the revival of the pandemic (…), I think it would be good to engage in a little pedagogy, because no one wants us to return to general obligations,” continued the French head of state.

“It is also the way in which we restore our habits based on volunteerism, as well as the spirit of responsibility,” emphasized Emmanuel Macron.

Faced with the ninth wave of Covid-19, to which epidemics of influenza and bronchiolitis are added, the government in Paris is currently refusing to take mandatory measures, but does not rule out the possibility of strengthening its position on the wearing of sanitary clothing. masks, if the epidemiological situation dictates

France’s health minister issued a “solemn appeal” to his countrymen on Sunday, urging the most vulnerable among them to get vaccinated against Covid-19 in the face of this new wave of the pandemic.

In France, the first eight epidemiological waves brought some immunity to the general population, mostly vaccinated according to the full schedule, but which registers delays in vaccinations with a second revaccination against Covid-19. Although the total number of hospitalized patients remained below the highest level seen this year, a new outbreak of the pandemic risks affecting the nation’s already strained health care system.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the Covid-19 pandemic has caused more than 158,000 deaths in France and more than 6.6 million victims worldwide.