Voices were rising everywhere, demanding numbers. Proof of this impatience, a petition on the Change.org site, gathering 45,000 signatures, called for "a count to prevent our seniors from dying in national indifference". With several days of delay, the Director General of Health finally announced this Thursday the first assessment of victims of the coronavirus in medico-social establishments. These are places where people with disabilities are welcomed, but also nursing homes, on which attention is focused because of the great fragility of the residents. “We are very attentive to this situation for our most vulnerable and elderly people. It is a matter of concern for all French people, ”said Jérôme Salomon.
Thus, according to a first estimate, 14,638 confirmed or possible cases of Covid-19 have been identified and 884 deaths have been reported in France. "If we compare them to the 680,000 residents of nursing homes in France, this figure is rather low," says Florence Arnaiz-Maumé, general delegate of the national union of establishments and private residences for the elderly (Synerpa). Even if we are worried, the situation is not out of control. We have to wait for more information. "
"Brought back to our 700,000 residents, this means that many nursing homes on the territory are not affected and this despite the scarcity of tests", reacts Jean-Pierre Riso, president of the National Federation of associations of directors of establishments and services for the elderly (FNADEPA).
But all know, a new heavy assessment is to be feared in the coming days. "We know that these figures will increase, and that there will be other deaths," fears Jean-Pierre Riso. This Thursday, the Director General of Health warned. “Besides the fact that this news is extremely sad, these are only partial figures, to be taken with great caution. "
"Our challenge will be to protect and save as many lives as possible"
Why are there only scraps of results at the moment? Simply because there was not until Sunday a national device allowing the Ehpad to forward these data. It takes time to identify the number of infections and deaths establishment by establishment. In addition, it remains approximate since only the first two residents of a retirement home are tested during a suspicion of Covid. "The data is still being consolidated with great inequalities in the collection between regions," said Jérôme Salomon.
VIDEO. At least 884 deaths in nursing homes, says Jérôme Salomon
As of Wednesday and for the first time, a regional health agency (ARS) has unveiled its count. Since the appearance of the virus, 570 deaths linked to Covid-19 have been recorded in nursing homes in the Grand-Est. The Haut-Rhin, a source of contamination, alone accounts for 314 of these deaths. In Normandy, six residents succumbed to Covid-19, 18 in Pays de la Loire and three in Corsica. “What is happening is unexpected, unpublished, deplores Florence Arnaiz-Maumé. In the coming weeks, our challenge will be to protect and save as much life as possible. These deaths, added to the heavy hospital toll, already lead to an increase in visible mortality at the national level: + 14% this week of March 16 compared to that of 2019 and + 19% on that of March 23.
