Requested to assess a strengthened sanitary protocol for shops in the context of the Covid-19 epidemic, the HCSP recalls its doctrine and proposes adapted social distancing measures, systematic hand hygiene and the compulsory and permanent wearing of a mask covering the nose, mouth and chin in shops in closed spaces.

The HCSP stresses that the risks of contamination are linked to 4 parameters: population mixing, density of population, the duration of contact with potentially contaminated people and room ventilation. In addition to its assessment of the protocol, the HCSP recommends:

• limiting and supervising, or even banning, commercial events on premises that bring people together,
• making shopkeepers aware of the need to avoid crowds,
• a particular attention towards stores that involves prolonged presence of people in spaces that are difficult to ventilate properly which touch shared objects (cyber-cafés with headphones for example),
• to implement specific instructions relating to fitting rooms in cloth shops.

These recommendations are effective only if properly applied at the same time and if they are the subject of a global policy of behavior control, beyond the sole responsibility and commitment of individual citizens.