In recent days, François Braun has been turning the question in all directions.
"But what are they doing here?"
“Asks the boss of Samu-Urgences de France, who is also an emergency doctor at the Metz hospital, Moselle prefecture, a territory at the heart of the epidemic in France.
Clearly, why did the Brazilian and South African variants come to nest in this eastern department, nestled between Luxembourg and Germany?
“Apart from this explanation of borders, I see no rational reason for their rapid spread,” continues François Braun.
Every day, 150,000 Mosellans cross to Luxembourg, which has a lot of European exchanges.
It's a track, but I don't know if it forms a whole.
"
Finding the origin is however essential to try to stop these mutants which shudder the department, with now 100 new cases listed per day, much more than on the whole of the Hexagon.
"We want to protect the population of Moselle," said the Minister of Health on Friday, who came to assess the situation urgently.
The day before, he had called it “worrying”.
Already, screening will be intensified there and all positive cases will be "suspected of being a variant", said Olivier Véran, announcing a reinforced contact-tracing.
Above all, 2000 doses of additional vaccines will be delivered to speed up the immunization of the population this weekend.
What about territorial confinement as requested by local elected officials?
An advanced weekend curfew?
"In consultation", replied the minister.
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"Anticipating school holidays by starting them earlier would not be foolish, because the variants spread among young people," notes Dr Braun.
A hypothesis on which will debate Olivier Véran and Jean-Michel Blanquer, his counterpart in Education.
“I am going to return to Paris and in particular to discuss the situation of schools with […] Jean-Michel Blanquer”, declared Olivier Véran before leaving Moselle.
Still, he was, this Friday evening, busy defending the education component of the law on separatism.
Rue de Grenelle, where the closure of schools was never plan A, we recall that "the final decision is taken in interministerial".
A "reinforced health protocol was put in place at the beginning of the week, which includes the wearing of the category 1 mask for all and the closing of a class in the event of detection of a variant", reminds those around Blanquer.
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VIDEO. Covid-19: Reinforced vaccination in Moselle but no immediate re-containment
And to question the relevance of closing schools without additional measures: "The school remains a place where we respect barrier gestures, a place of control of the pandemic.
If we close, we must ensure that the children are confined, not having fun.
This being the case, the Ministry of Education assures him: if there is an "epidemic outbreak" and all classes must be closed, "we will do it".
"Stop rattling around the students"
An uncertainty that annoys teachers.
Bruno Henry, teacher in a high school and secretary of the Snes-FSU in the Nancy-Metz academy, the majority union among secondary school teachers, hammers it: "I would have liked to know if I had to tell my students, by telling them. leaving this Friday evening: see you
Monday
or have a
good vacation
”.
If he explains that the closure of schools would not be contested because “health takes precedence”, the ambient vagueness is regrettable.
"We would like the decision-makers to anticipate, that we at least know if we are going for distance or dry leave," grumbles Bruno Henry.
Stop rattling the students!
"