The Marseille region is at the center of the government's mechanism to deal with the coronavirus. While 182 returnees were already taken care of at the Vacanciel hotel club in Carry-le-Rouet, a new contingent arrived this Sunday by special plane from Wuhan (China). Families have joined them, but other medical returnees will spend their two weeks of quarantine in the much more austere buildings of the National Superior School of Fire Brigade Officers (Ensosp).
Located in the middle of a business area in the midst of numerous businesses near the Aix-les-Milles aerodrome (Bouches-du-Rhône) and the Luynes jail, Ensosp currently does not welcome any intern and drastic precautions have been taken. "There are airlocks everywhere, confined areas, barriers ... There is no reason to worry, everything is ready," explains LREM MP for the riding Anne-Laurence Petel, who visited the facilities with Secretary of State for Health Adrien Taquet, who has come to welcome the returnees. “Doctors, nurses and psychologists from the health reserve are mobilized. It is normal to offer a quality welcome to our compatriots who need solidarity. "
Tight and sterile rooms in La Timone
Why such a concentration of resources in the Bouches-du-Rhône? Adrien Taquet explains: “This choice was made because the department met the criteria that had been laid down. Namely, an airport that can accommodate an A380, have a reference hospital for these pathologies and accommodation centers with a large reception capacity. Marseille and its surroundings had these advantages. "
VIDEO. Why the French from Wuhan are repatriated around Marseille
Asked about the fact that other big cities, like Paris or Lyon, could also have done the trick, Adrien Taquet adds that “the Bouches-du-Rhône really had a lot of advantages. But, to reassure the populations, it must really be made clear that there is no danger. Everything is in place for the protection of people. "
The Marseilles region was chosen by the authorities also for the presence at the Timone hospital of the Hospital-University Institute "Méditerranée Infection", a three-story building which has completely sealed and sterile rooms which could accommodate potential patients with coronavirus.
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The mayor LR of Aix-en-Provence, Maryse Joissains, who had indicated that the government "should assume full responsibility if it went wrong", agreed. "I understand that there are maximum medical security measures," she said at the exit. "The people of Aix are surprised as I was myself, I was warned the day of Saturday. What I'm asking now is checking the incubation period of the virus. If it is more than 14 days, other arrangements will have to be made. "