Three cases of coronavirus have been identified in France, health authorities announced on Friday January 24. One patient is hospitalized in Bordeaux and the other two in Bichat in Paris. All have been placed in solitary confinement but are doing well.
For the past few weeks, the Chinese coronavirus has scared the whole world. In addition to the nearly 1,300 cases recorded in China, including 41 fatalities, others have been identified in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, South Korea, Nepal, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, the United States and now in France. On Friday January 24, health authorities confirmed that three people had been tested positive for the virus in France. One patient was hospitalized in Bordeaux and the other two in Paris. What do we know about these patients?
The patient treated in Bordeaux is a 48-year-old Frenchman of Chinese origin. This month, the man traveled to China for work and notably stopped in Wuhan, in the center of the country, where the first cases of coronavirus were identified in December.
Back on Wednesday, January 22, he went the next day to an SOS Médecins consultation center for symptoms of fever and cough. He was immediately transferred to CHU Pellegrin where he tested positive for coronavirus. He was then hospitalized “in an isolated room by specialized medical teams whose competence in infectious diseases is internationally recognized”, announced the hospital center which “continues its normal operation” without disruption for “the reception of patients”. “The health professionals” of the service “follow the protection protocols in force by wearing (…) gloves, mask and suitable clothing”, it is specified.
Air France will have to contact people who took the same flight
According to the doctor who took care of the patient before sending him to the hospital, he passed through the Netherlands on his way back from China. According to the JDD, when arriving in France, he would also have taken an Air France flight between Paris and Bordeaux. The airline will have to contact the passengers of the flight in question.
As for the SOS Médecins waiting room, “because of our operation, by appointment, he met few people in the waiting room, less than 10 people and kept himself away The risk for other patients is almost zero,” said the doctor.
Today, the patient “is doing well”, assured the Minister of Health, Agnès Buzyn, on Friday. The health authorities will contact the ten people he has met since his return to France to give them the instructions to follow. Between “ten to fifteen people” have already reported to the authorities, said the mayor of Bordeaux, Nicolas Florian, this Saturday. They will have to “take their temperature several times a day, contact center 15 in the event of symptoms and stay at home for the moment to avoid any further contact which would promote the spread of the virus”.
A couple hospitalized in Bichat, Paris
“For travelers returning from China, it is important to monitor themselves, and at the slightest respiratory sign or if you have a fever, you should not go to the emergency room, you must call center 15 which picks up the patient”, insisted Agnès Buzyn.
This is what the other two patients diagnosed with the virus in France do. The two people are 30 and 31 years old and are in a relationship. They are from Wuhan and arrived in France on January 18. They were asymptomatic at the time. According to current information on the virus, the incubation period ranges from two to twelve days. Following official recommendations, the patients called 15 as soon as the first symptoms appeared and are doing well, Bichat hospital informed this Saturday (18th arrondissement of Paris), where they were taken care of.
The patients were placed in isolation within the dedicated Epidemic and Biological Risks unit of the hospital’s infectious and tropical diseases department.
“It is likely that we will have other cases”
A crisis unit has been activated at AP-HP. “An in-depth epidemiological investigation around these cases was immediately implemented by the Ile de France Regional Health Agency and Public Health France”, informed the Hospitals of Paris.
According to Agnès Buzyn, “it is likely that we will have other cases. The most important thing is to identify them as quickly as possible (…) We must treat an epidemic as we treat a fire, very quickly identify the source and circumscribe it as quickly as possible”.
