Father of the law on the rights of the sick, Bernard Kouchner was three times Minister of Health. A doctor by profession, he has experienced several health crises, here in France and around the world with the non-governmental organization (NGO) Médecins du monde, which he co-founded. Faced with the "very serious" situation of the coronavirus, he called above all for calm, a better attitude according to him to deal with the virus which is spreading in France.
France is preparing to move to stage 3 of the epidemic. Should we worry about it?
BERNARD KOUCHNER. Stage 3 is inevitable. It simply states that there is contagiousness at the national level. Clearly, he has more patients and everywhere in the country. There is nothing tragic about this decision. Do not worry too much and trust the instructions of the health authorities. The risk is to fall into a collective panic which is not appropriate: worry is never a good adviser. You have to know what to keep.
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Is coronavirus no different from other epidemics?
All epidemics have different stages and spread. But the coronavirus is very perennial, very contagious, and attacks strongly the oldest and most fragile subjects. So you have to take it very seriously - and that's what is done. Today, barrier measures are in place, hospitals are prepared. It now remains to establish a major national strategy with city doctors because it is obvious that hospitals will not be able to accommodate all patients with coronavirus. Generalists will play a key role.
What strategy?
Already, ensure that they have the appropriate equipment: masks in sufficient quantity, gowns (Editor's note protective gowns) ... Each doctor must be able to carry out diagnostic tests and be able to have a correspondent in the hospital. Generalists, ENT… they will be invaluable in this management of the epidemic. Let us not forget that the so-called "family" doctors are those who have the confidence of the population. They will be on the front line to reassure patients, and in particular the elderly. We need to involve them more: we will not do without them.
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You were a minister. How do you judge the current management of the crisis?
Our country has responded well. Implementing common sense measures without panicking is not easy, especially in the age of continuous news channels. I was minister at the time of the Anthrax alerts and I informed the situation every day at a fixed time, as is done for the coronavirus. I know it also causes anxiety. But the French are great and have the right to know what is going on in the country.
A law on the rights of the sick, promulgated in 2002, rightly bears your name. What are our rights during an epidemic?
To be informed transparently! To have access to the best care. Keeping the confidence of the population is essential, it is thanks to them that we will be able to reduce the number of patients.
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And our duty?
Follow health instructions (note: regular hand washing, limiting hand shakes, kisses but also visits to the elderly) . There will also be unpopular but necessary measures: cancellations of events, perhaps even football matches. Priority to public health.
