Natacha still can't get over the scene she attended on her Parisian bus on Monday morning. With the headphones screwed into your ears, she doesn't understand what happens when the driver pulls over to the side of the road, and stops the vehicle. She cuts off the sound and hears the driver ask a passenger at the back of the bus: "Are you okay, lady?" ".
Faced with the lack of response, the driver reiterates his question: "Yes you, madam, with your phone, I heard you cough, that worries me and I think I am not the only one here. Have you tested for coronavirus? ".
According to an Ifop survey for Illicomed, 61% of French people are worried about the Covid-19 coronavirus epidemic. While France crossed the 200 mark on Tuesday and now has four dead, Natacha is part of the remaining 39%.
"It's crazy to ask someone who coughed for justification," she says. In fact, the lady replied that she had seen a doctor, and that it was only bronchitis. For the young woman, the reaction of the bus driver was clearly exaggerated. "It shows the extreme concern of some people."
I thought it was a hidden camera squarely you no longer have the right to cough without justifying your illness to strangers around you
- наташа (@ Klmnz94) March 3, 2020However, Natacha recognizes this, it is easier for her to remain calm: at 22, she is not one of the people at risk. "It's true that for the elderly, for example, it's more dangerous," she admits.
"No more dangerous than the flu"
Like her, Julien is annoyed to see the coronavirus monopolize conversations and the front page of the newspapers. "This virus is nothing more dangerous or contagious than a flu," he says. this 29 year old Castres even dares to joke on his Twitter account: "I am more worried about the future of certain characters in #TheWalkingDead #LaCasaDePapel or #Elite than for #Coronavirus", he writes, referring to series television.
I worry more for the future of some characters in #TheWalkingDead #LaCasaDePapel or #Elite than for #Coronavirus
- ⭐️🇫🇷∀ 〽️'IN DONNÉ 🇫🇷⭐️ (@ZeuSedaH) March 2, 2020If we look at the number of people infected and the number of deaths, Julien is not wrong. In France, the seasonal flu affects between 2 million and 6 million people in France and causes 10,000 deaths on average. In addition, the coronavirus currently only affects 200 people and has killed four people in the country. But the epidemic is not over, and the number of cases will continue to increase in the coming days.
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In the rest of the world, the Covid-19 virus has killed more than 3,000 people to date. Seasonal flu is responsible for 290,000 to 650,000 deaths each year according to the World Health Organization (WHO). "Even if France becomes a main focus of the virus, that does not mean that the entire French population will catch it and die," summarizes Julien. He explains the concern of his compatriots by a "paranoid". "Because all of this is new, and people are afraid of the 'new' and the unknown," he said.
"I'm not going to stop living for a pseudo virus"
On the other hand, contrary to what the young Castres asserts, the coronavirus is much more contagious than the flu: according to several studies published in February, the contagiousness index, that is to say the number of people infected by a coronavirus patient, is more higher than that of the flu: between 1.5 and 3.5 for the Covid-19, against 1 for the flu.
However, it is not the epidemic that worries Arnaud. This supporter of Stade Rennais fears rather that the match of his favorite team against Montpellier, in Ligue 1, next weekend, will be postponed or organized behind closed doors. "Cancel all these events ... It creates psychosis and it weighs on morale," he said.
He is not worried and has no plans to change his habits. This delivery driver meets a lot of people during his work days, and he continues to shake hands. "I wash my hands often, but that's as usual," he says.
Even bias in Julien: "I will not stop living for a pseudo virus," he annoys. In May, he planned a trip to Madrid, Spain, which has more than 120 cases to date and where the epidemic is progressing. And no question for him to cancel or postpone it.