They could no longer receive visits. The residents of Ehpad will soon be isolated "individually". The Minister of Health Olivier Véran will ask specialized establishments to put in place this drastic measure to go "further in the protection of the elderly", on the front line of the coronavirus crisis.
If they are not yet counted in the daily statement of the general direction of health, the deaths in Ehpad multiply. In Ile-de-France alone, the Regional Health Agency (ARS) reported on Friday 241 Ehpad out of 600 affected by the epidemic with "more than 100 deaths".
Faced with these figures, the Minister of Health, during a press point held with Edouard Philippe this Saturday, therefore decided on the "individual" isolation of the residents. A measure already practiced, on a case-by-case basis, in some nursing homes. This means in particular no longer going to the common rooms to take meals. "After the blue plan, we must go further to protect these particularly fragile elderly people and make even more difficult decisions," explained Olivier Véran.
Staff invited to sleep on site
In addition to residents, measures will also directly affect caregivers. Last week, the latter alerted the minister to their situation. "The increase in the number of cases is rapid and [it] is, in the vast majority of cases, consecutive to the viral transmission of an asymptomatic caregiver," they wrote in a letter, also calling for more means of protection. .
Some 500,000 masks will be unlocked daily for the staff of 7,000 French retirement homes, said the Minister of Health once again. Tests will also be carried out as a “priority” on this nursing staff.
"Wherever possible, I will encourage any approach so that staff who work tirelessly already in nursing homes can as little as possible get out of these establishments to take the least risk that they come back with the virus", also announced the minister.