In terms of French strategy, the Scientific Council often gives the "la", even if Emmanuel Macron has often added a political touch to the most symbolic measures in 2020. The exit of Jean-François Delfraissy, president of this body created to guide the government, Sunday on BFMTV, allowed to know more about some of the avenues explored to try to contain the epidemic.
He warned that it would be necessary "probably to go towards confinement" ... but also mentioned other tracks, less hard, but more tenuous.
Extend winter vacation
"We can adapt the school holidays: this does not call into question the opening of schools, it is admitting that we can have school holidays of one week longer, perhaps by grouping them together", esteemed Jean-François Delfraissy.
Clearly, February would be a month “without school”.
At the Ministry of National Education, no question of confirming any track whatsoever.
But several “levers are on the table”, indicates the entourage of Jean-Michel Blanquer.
Among them, the closure of canteens or the increase in hybridization in colleges.
READ ALSO>
English variant in France: it all started at Christmas…
And the extended vacation?
" To do what ?
Send the children to summer camp?
That does not make sense.
It is necessary to couple with another device preventing the mixing ", comments on rue de Grenelle, where it is recalled that the minister is" viscerally attached to school time ".
A hypothesis would also be, in the event of an extension of winter holidays, to do home schooling or distance learning during the third week.
In any case, limit attendance in class.
On the side of the parents of students, we are worried.
"It's been too long without a social relationship for children, and psychological effects that accumulate", regrets Hubert Salaün, president of the federation of parents Peep.
However, epidemiologist Mircea Sofoena considers this possible lever to be “useful”.
“We know that the holidays cut the epidemic, we saw it last year.
And this, at a lower cost, since, apart from the third week, the families are organized to manage the children.
"
Return to full teleworking
By authorizing volunteers to return to companies one day a week, the government has responded to a psychological need, as she indicated at the beginning of January: “More than half of teleworking employees say they suffer from isolation.
This shift, well seen by the unions, comes up against the study of the Pasteur Institute published in December: more than a quarter of the contaminations identified outside the home came from the professional environment (28.1%).
In detail, most of the transmissions are done in open space or during the restoration.
We also observe a very variable application from one company to another.
"At home, I ask everyone to come, but we have 40 m2 per employee on average and we eat very apart while cleaning the space, because we do not want to be sick, observes a boss of Lyon construction.
It's different from the office buildings that I build where there is an average of 6 m2 per person.
Difficult to make a single rule.
"
Confining people at risk
Professor Delfraissy urged “the most fragile elderly people to go towards a form of voluntary self-isolation” for the next two months, while half of the deaths affect those over 85 years old.
Still, the Minister of Health has already indicated that he refused to do so, for the moment, "for reasons of feasibility and solidarity between generations".
While the vaccination campaign has passed the milestone of one million first injections, the associations of the elderly say they are suspicious of any measure that would fall under "ageism", as noted by Pascal Champvert, president of the association of the elderly. directors in the service of the elderly (AD-PA): “To authoritatively re-limit only people at risk, that's no.
On the other hand, it is understandable to advise the elderly to be more vigilant.
But it will be necessary that, in three weeks, we leave more freedom to those who will be vaccinated.
"
Confining just the weekend
Objective of this idea, already mentioned last year: to avoid “leisure” travel between regions and limit family contacts, with limited economic consequences.
The mobility data collected by Google and that we have sifted through gives an idea of the potential drag.
Morning essentials newsletter
A tour of the news to start the day
Subscribe to the newsletterAll newsletters
In the spring, in the hard version of containment, the French had spent 21% more time at home on weekends compared to a pre-Covid weekend in February (nights included).
In mid-November, during the second episode, the time spent at home only increased by 15%.
Under curfew, the weekend of January 16, Android mobile users spent “only” 8% more time at home than a weekend in February 2020. Not enough, judge Mircea Sofeana: “Two days confined out of seven is far too light.
The reverse would be more effective.
"
