As soon as he is seated, he takes his speech out of his pocket with a ceremonial gesture.
It is because Georges, 96 years old, has a sense of synthesis.
And wishes to summarize, aloud, the state of mind of his 99 comrades.
“Residents of the Ehpad la Cristolienne, in Créteil, have welcomed the flexibility measures that have been taken.
They considered that the director had rewarded the good students, ”he begins, relieved that the elderly vaccinated at this establishment in Val-de-Marne finally have some privileges.
Here as elsewhere, the vaccination campaign against Covid-19 is being completed in retirement homes.
Around him, in the library, Nicole, 88, and Daniel, 97, whom we had met with Georges, five months earlier, approve the presentation, looking serious.
After months with the “freedom of a dog on a leash”, they cursed in November, they no longer believed in it.
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For a few days, they no longer need to isolate themselves for a week, during meals, after a visit to their families, and their relatives can again go up to their homes provided they present a negative PCR test of less than 48 hours or also to be vaccinated.
For the moment, only a few establishments have taken this freedom without waiting for the government announcements which are slow to come, the Ministry in charge of Autonomy preferring "to take the time for in-depth consultation with the federations", he tells us.
The number of contaminations divided by two
Yet the vaccination campaign is already showing results.
The number of contaminations and deaths has been halved, in a few weeks, in retirement homes.
The director of the Cristolienne therefore decided, “a question of mental health, advance Pascal Champvert.
We can't tell 80-year-olds
we'll see later
.
They had the toughest restrictions.
But today almost all are protected, so there is no reason to maintain these measures.
"
The rules have been relaxed for vaccinated residents, allowing reunions and the return of entertainment.
LP / Olivier Corsan
But what about the fate of the unvaccinated?
"We seized the national advisory committee on ethics on this subject," he warns, also at the head of the association of directors in the service of the elderly.
Should the rules be relaxed for everyone, knowing that vaccination is not compulsory, or not?
In the meantime, we have chosen the second option.
»Christiane, 82, Nicole's friend, will therefore not benefit from this relief.
She, who had the Covid in July 2020, did not find it useful to be immunized.
"I thought I was doing the right thing," says the old lady, who is biting her fingers today.
"We were all together, happy, and the musician too!"
But what comforts her is that the entertainment is no longer organized by floor.
All can finally mix.
The premiere took place last Friday.
“We were all together, happy, and the musician too!
Oh I thought he was never going to stop singing.
"
Just by evoking it, the scene provokes a rain of memories that everyone hurries to tell.
“Some have danced!
Nicole laughs.
Georges, did you do a tango?
"The person, yellow sweater and trendy sneakers, who keeps repeating how young he feels, nods, flattered:" First, I did a waltz but my date was taller than me.
“Between them, the bond is strong and the reunion masked to the sound of Fernandel was enough to give them a burst of joy, eclipsing the crisis.
The flow is accelerating.
“It was like before.
»« We have the impression of living.
“Finally, there are people at karaoke and the boring four-way lotos have regained their old style.
Despite the authorization, no resident has brought a relative in the privacy of his home.
LP / Olivier Corsan
When, on the first floor, in the Alzheimer's department, Nadia, the caregiver, announced the relief of the protocol to the residents, she saw their faces open.
And Fatou, on the second floor, a tear beading on Madame C.'s face. "I told her:
everything is fine?
She replied:
Yes, it's like coming out of a cage.
"
Poorly vaccinated staff
The two employees did not want to be immunized for the moment, "because we lack perspective," they fear.
Like them, only 17% of staff made this choice, compared to 30 to 40% nationally.
Figures too low for the Ministry of Autonomy, which sets itself the objective, he tells us, to "convince professionals to be vaccinated more than they do today."
It is an individual responsibility which has very important collective repercussions in the current context.
"
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The health executive jumped at the chance.
"I went there with my eyes closed, it is the only solution to get us out of this pandemic," breathes Isabelle Aubois, hurt at having to ban everything for a year, even if vigilance remains in order.
The virus can still strike, seven retired Cristolienne were infected between the two doses of Pfizer.
VIDEO. A mobile home in an Ehpad for family lunch despite the Covid
The noose has certainly loosened, but without fully filling our retirees, of a protest nature.
Despite the authorization, no one brought a relative in the privacy of his home.
It was however the greatest wish of Nicole, whose daughter could no longer take care of her laundry.
“Besides, at the moment, the TV is not working well and it is the only one that knows how to fix it.
So what is she waiting for?
The obligation of a PCR test for her daughter slows her down, "it's a constraint anyway".
It did not take more to launch Daniel, 97 years old: “Imagine, if they come twice a week, they have to queue twice at the lab!
It's still pissing them off!
When will the saliva tests be done?
In that case, why not go to their families?
Hard in business, the retiree takes out the regulations.
"Little has," he reads, "it is a question of
exceptional outings
, I would like someone to tell me what that means?"
"Nicole dares:" It means when you're about to caner.
" " But no !
»Reasoned Christiane.
The opinions fuse.
Georges, who likes summaries, puts everyone in agreement: “What we can say is that there is better but that we still live with this same sword of Damocles.
"
