So as not to be surprised by a new epidemic wave linked to the coronavirus, the government has prepared four reconfinement scenarios according to the evolution of the health situation.
- Four scenarios are ready to be implemented depending on health developments.
- Three concern travel restrictions, bans on gatherings and the closure of bars and restaurants
- The fourth scenario envisages a general reconfinement that the government wishes to avoid at all costs
“All the scenarios are not only under study, but completed”, assured Olivier Véran, Minister of Health, to franceinfo this morning. These scenarios are those of a reconfinement according to health developments, but the latter confirms that a generalized reconfinement is not relevant. “We had worked with the Scientific Council even before the deconfinement. (…) There are measures that are applied in different corners of our territory“, he adds. Currently, France has between 400 and 500 active clusters, “mainly located in closed places and special environments such as slaughterhouses”.
Measures to anticipate an epidemic recovery
These four scenarios concern the limitation of travel, the ban on gatherings and the closure of bars and restaurants. Generalized containment is the fourth scenario, but it is not preferred and will only be used in cases of extreme necessity. These different scenarios contain progressive measures. “If in a place, when you test 100 people, there are twenty who are positive and you are surprised to see it, that means you have lost track of the chains of contamination, develops Olivier Véran. There, you tell yourself that the virus is circulating too much, you have to put the lid on. We have a graduated plan: we protect fragile people in nursing homes, isolated fragile people, the elderly, etc.”
To anticipate these scenarios and limit the spread of the virus on the territory, the government wishes to quickly implement access to tests without medical prescription. Saliva tests, considered simpler and less unpleasant, should also be deployed. Another measure which came into force on Monday July 20, the wearing of a mask is now compulsory in closed public places.
The Scientific Council also has four scenarios
At the beginning of June, the Scientific Council published its four probable deconfinement scenarios. The first refers to an epidemic situation under control where localized epidemic clusters and foci can appear but can be brought under control. If these clusters get out of control and the chain of contamination cannot be reconstituted, this is a sign of a local epidemic resumption. Finally, the last two scenarios are those of the worst and concern a loss of control over the entire territory which could lead, in the most disastrous case, to a reconfinement.
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