Awareness?
The calls to respect the barrier measures in this second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, repeated more than ever by the government and by doctors, seem to be bearing fruit.
Systematic compliance with all barrier gestures rose in October for the first time since confinement, we learn in the latest epidemiological point of Public Health France posted online Thursday evening.
Two of these measures ("avoid face-to-face gatherings" and "avoid festive gatherings", added in August) were even still declining until then.
"Measures concerning the avoidance of festive gatherings (+ 9%), gatherings and face-to-face meetings (+ 8%), wearing a mask (+ 5%) and greeting without shaking hands and without embrace (+ 4%) are up significantly compared to the wave from September 21 to 23, ”congratulates the agency.
The barrier gesture most systematically respected is the wearing of a mask (78.9%), having to “greet each other without shaking hands and stopping hugs”, which goes back to 73.8%.
“Avoid groupings and face-to-face meetings” comes at the back of the pack, at 39.8% adoption.
Younger people less vigilant
A sample of 2,000 inhabitants representative of the French population was surveyed from October 19 to 21 as part of this survey called "CoviPrev".
As always, they were invited to answer a questionnaire via the Internet.
The aim of this survey is twofold: "to have a tool to adjust the communication and prevention strategies of the public authorities" and, in the longer term, "to produce and capitalize on knowledge on the repercussions of Covid-19 on health mental and other health behaviors ”, indicates Public Health France on its dedicated page.
If the figures are climbing in all age groups, the health agency emphasizes that "adherence to preventive measures increases most often with age."
Conversely, those under 35 are part of the populations "less systematically adopting preventive measures" while men are less vigilant than women.
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Unsurprisingly, the fact of "perceiving prevention measures as effective, not very restrictive" and of "feeling capable" of adopting them are among the most "driving" elements.
Hence the need for political and health authorities to communicate well and avoid hiccups such as those concerning wearing a mask, officially discouraged for the general population at the start of the pandemic.