Covid-19 and All Saints' Day holidays: grandparents above all

Funny holidays for our seniors.

Around this same time last year, the only dilemma they faced was what Halloween mask they could possibly buy for their grandchildren.

Today, it is rather: "What mask to wear when they come to see us?

Surgical or tissue?

“And again, if they come to see them, a health crisis obliges…

Because nothing is less certain.

As the second week of the All Saints holiday begins, families have to deal with a reality: those over 65 are the most vulnerable to the Covid-19 epidemic, an age group increasingly affected by the second wave.

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To be at the head of the family pyramid is to find yourself in the middle of painful negotiations.

There is also the fear of the youngest of infecting the old and the concern not to isolate them.

Not to mention the prospect of not being able to count on them to look after the grandchildren.

A detail that is not one at a time when the economic situation is not looking good.

According to a survey by the Directorate of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (DREES) carried out in 2013, 49% of children under 6 years old are looked after by their grandparents during holidays or weekends. ends.

More recently, a survey by Unaf (National Union of Family Associations) published in May revealed that three-quarters of parents benefit from services from grandparents, including 23 million hours of weekly care… free.

Children, harmless or super-contaminators?

“It is above all our own children, the quadras, who stay at a distance.

They no longer dare to touch us, they worry more than us, ”says Régine Florin, from the School for European Grandparents (EGPE).

It is true that the discourse of health authorities has fluctuated on the risks of contagiousness according to age groups.

After having explained the reverse, they now agree in saying that children are not very active in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

This is swept away, in turn, by a study published on September 30 in the journal "Science", carried out on 500,000 patients by American and Indian researchers.

“Children are very effective transmitters,” says lead author Ramanan Laxminarayan.

"Pitting generations against each other is sterile, counter-productive or even dangerous at a time when our nation needs the combined effort of all", alarms the EGPE in a petition that it has just launched, addressed in particular to the President of the Republic.

The association recalls the importance of intra-family solidarity to face this health crisis but also economic.

Entitled "Together, grandparents, children, grandchildren!"

“, The text has already collected nearly 14,000 signatures.

“The confinement gave even more importance to family values.

To face the anguish caused by this pandemic, these links have become a need, not just a desire, ”insists Hervé Sauzay, president of the French Institute for Seniors.

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And the manager reassured: according to a survey carried out by the Institute in May, "it appears that seniors are very careful about themselves".

In the midst of all these arguments, sometimes contradictory, the risk associated with reuniting can therefore only rest on the choice and responsibility of each individual.

Another dilemma in the forecast for the Christmas holidays?