In this South Pacific archipelago of 270,000 inhabitants, it has been four days since any new patient has been identified. The territory, whose population has been confined for just over two weeks, officially has eighteen cases of coronavirus out of the approximately 2,400 tests carried out, and only one patient in intensive care. No saturation in hospital services therefore and, at first glance, no worrying circulation of the virus either among its inhabitants. The figures are stagnating and all the positive cases seem to have been directly "imported" by people returning from their trip.
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Only one case recently gave some cold sweats to the Caledonian authorities, that of a patient discovered positive for Covid-19, even though he had been coordinating since March 22 the government's operational center, coronavirus crisis cell. In question: a first test which had declared it wrongly negative, on March 21, due to a flaw in the screening system. However, this delay in diagnosis is not without consequences for the archipelago, since in the meantime, this coordinator of the crisis cell has been in contact with many people, including the main officials of Caledonian institutions.
Confined officials
While a Dass investigation is underway, "sixty-nine people are still in the fortnight," said a doctor on Wednesday from the directorate of health and social affairs, during the daily press briefing on the management of 'epidemic. Among the first affected: the president of the government of New Caledonia Thierry Santa, as well as two members of the executive, currently confined to a hotel in Noumea.
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Two of the three provincial presidents are also concerned: Sonia Backès (Les Républicains Calédoniens), at the head of the southern province, finally got out of her home confinement on Tuesday, after being tested negative at Covid-19 twice, while that his counterpart from the Loyalty Islands, Jacques Lalié (UC-FLNKS), is always in the fortnight in a hotel room. A situation "fraught with consequences during this period of crisis, while others are confined to their homes", reacted Jacques Lalié, who "reserves the right to file a complaint against X" in order to "remove doubts about the role of each stakeholder ”. "The country is on alert and the permanent members of the operations directorate are confined. It is not serious ” , plague the owner of the province of the islands.
The President of New Caledonia auditioned
Faced with this embarrassing situation, the two deputies Philippe Gomès and Philippe Dunoyer (Calédonie Ensemble, UDI), had demanded as of Tuesday that "all transparency be made" by asking the Congress of New Caledonia for the hearing by videoconference of the president of government Thierry Santa (LR), as well as the constitution of a pluralist commission of inquiry. "Caledonians must know how this crisis is managed," insists Philippe Dunoyer. In mainland France, the establishment of a fact-finding mission has been requested by all political parties, including Les Républicains, ” said the MP, faced with some reluctance from local elected officials. Thus, the first hearing of President Santa took place on Wednesday, but without retransmission unlike in France or the possibility of a subsequent commission of inquiry.
A heavy economic impact
In Caillou, where 90% of the economic fabric is made up of very small businesses, the consequences of the epidemic are, for the time being, more economic than health. More particularly since the closure of bars and restaurants but also of borders, as well as the confinement of the population, a measure extended until April 13. In two weeks, ten thousand applications for partial unemployment have been lodged, when usually the competent services only process four hundred per year.
Competent in economic - and health - matters, the Caledonian communities have embarked on a battery of measures to come to the aid of the businesses most affected. But they remain limited, the finances of New Caledonia being already in the red, well before this health crisis.
For its part, the State is putting its hand in the wallet, too, between support funds for small structures and guaranteed loan to all companies to help them in terms of cash flow. On the other hand, dry aid of 469 million euros, as New Caledonia wants, seems less likely. Because if the financial support of the State is recorded, "the amount and the terms" remain to be defined, specifies the high commissioner Laurent Prévost.
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The referendum in the crosshairs
"If we do not have the state cash advance to finance partial unemployment, we will not be able to finance this measure" , insists Christopher Gygès (Les Républicains Calédoniens), member of the government in charge of the economy. Picking up on President Macron's words, MP Philippe Dunoyer believes that “since we are at war, the State must make an additional effort, beyond its field of competence”. "Failure to do so would be an argument in favor of independence," fears the parliamentarian.
While the archipelago must decide again this year on the attainment of full sovereignty, the role played by the State in the management of this crisis will most likely be recovered during the campaign for the referendum on independence , by both loyalists and separatists. It remains to be seen whether this crucial deadline for New Caledonia will be maintained, given the still uncertain evolution of the pandemic. For the time being, the date of the referendum is still set for September 6.