France is currently undergoing a triple epidemic: firstly, there is the flu (9 regions are classified as “red” by Public Health France, and there is a very strong increase in hospitalizations in particular among those over 65), secondly , bronchiolitis (which is responsible for half of the hospitalizations of children under 2, this is an unprecedented situation), thirdly, Covid-19 (12 departments have crossed the bar of 800 cases per 100,000 inhabitants: the 9th wave is approaching).
Faced with this more than complicated situation, 12 patient associations (including the French Association of Hemophiliacs, RoseUp, Renaloo, the Heart Alliance, etc.) published this Thursday, December 8, 2022 a forum with our colleagues from Parisian: this one asks for the return of the compulsory mask in places of great promiscuity.
“The risks [de ces 3 épidémies concomitantes] are very clear: they concern not only the most fragile, but also our hospital system, which could find itself overwhelmed, on the eve of the end of year celebrations“alert the associations.
A return of the mandatory mask to protect the most fragile French people?
Pointing to the fact that, “by the very admission of the Minister of Health, the levels of vaccination [contre la grippe et le Covid] are very insufficient“ and “the therapeutic tools for protecting the most fragile have been significantly reduced“, the associations express their fears regarding the health of the 300,000 severely immunocompromised patients currently listed in France.
Hence a clear request:that wearing a mask becomes compulsory again in crowded spaces“like public transport, shops, pharmacies…
“The mask is sometimes painful to wear and certainly it fogs up the glasses. But today, this tool, whose usefulness has been demonstrated, should help to reduce the pressure on health establishments and the professionals who work there. It must also contribute to the solidarity protection of the most vulnerable, by allowing them to escape the risks of contracting the virus, and sometimes of dying from it.“
Source : The Parisian
