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Deconfinement: why are there so few patients among doctors?

2020-05-11T16:33:11.805Z


On this first day of deconfinement, general practitioners see their practice almost empty. Few patients are in a hurry, whether


Not many patients call their doctor on this first day of deconfinement. "Since I started my tour at 7 am this morning, I have not had any calls for suspicion of Covid-19" explains Doctor Serge Smadja, president of SOS Doctors for the Paris region. "I looked at people who had abdominal pain, or who had renal colic, but that's about it. We have far fewer calls than on a normal Monday, which is usually a fairly busy day for SOS Doctors, ”he adds.

The decline seems to be confirmed

The "decline", described by general practitioners for a fortnight, therefore seems to be confirmed. Sunday, SOS Doctors Paris had 20 suspected Covid, against 305 per day at the peak of the epidemic in late March. "We must of course remain cautious, while waiting to see concretely what the deconfinement will give in the coming days and weeks. It is possible that more contamination will occur, especially with the reopening of schools. But it is not certain. The second wave of Covid may not take place, although there will probably be small foci here and there, ”he believes. This is the case in Vendée, in the Hauts-de-Seine in Clamart and in Dordogne, where 9 people tested positive after attending a funeral on April 30, proof that the virus can resurface locally.

"People are afraid to go out"

It is probably for these reasons that patients are reluctant to consult, even for other pathologies. “Around Toulouse, where the virus has not been very active, the colleagues tell me that their offices are empty. People are afraid to go out, to make phone calls to their doctor, including for their chronic pathology. As if they feared that he would send them to the hospital, and that they would end up catching the virus. It has become excessive, ”explains Doctor Jérôme Marty, general practitioner in Haute-Garonne, and president of the Union Française union for free medicine. He is quite critical with the virus circulation measurement cards: “When people see red and green, people mainly remember red. But if they don't consult, it could cause other damage to their health. ”

In the hospital, even if morale is up, caution remains. "It's calm for the moment. But we have to wait a few days to take stock of the deconfinement ”specifies Professor Jean-Daniel Lelièvre, head of the infectious diseases department of the Henri Mondor hospital in Créteil (Val-de-Marne).

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Source: leparis

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