France is to make face masks compulsory in most workplaces as it grapples with a resurgence in coronavirus cases.

The new rule is likely to apply to all shared spaces in offices and factories where there is more than one employee present. The measure is set to begin on 1 September. Individual offices will be exempt. France has seen a sharp rise in coronavirus cases since July and masks are already widely used. Its average number of new cases over seven days is now well above 2,000, double what it was at the start of the month. About 220,000 people have now been infected and more than 30,000 have died. 

Health officials suggest that almost a quarter of new clusters have been linked to workplaces outside medical settings, reports BBC Paris correspondent Lucy Williamson. The spike comes as the government encourages the country back to work in order to fill a 11% hole in its budget, she adds. France imposed one of Europe’s strictest lockdowns in March, which was gradually lifted from 11 May.(BBC)…[+]