On April 13, during an address followed by a record 37.5 million French, Emmanuel Macron had surprised by announcing the date for the start of deconfinement, scheduled for May 11. In the midst of a coronavirus epidemic, its implementation will be gradual. The head of state had thus announced the reopening of schools and nurseries, with improvements. He also said that masks for the general public would be made available to all French people and that aid for low-income families and precarious students would be put in place.
The Head of State to announce the procedure to follow, the Prime Minister to implement it. This Sunday, Édouard Philippe, accompanied by the Minister of Health Olivier Véran, held a press conference to provide some details on the modalities of this deconfinement, in order to continue the exercise of "transparency" that the Minister says he wants to carry. Here is what to remember from this speech.
"Learn to live with the virus"
"Hope is reborn but we are not out of the health crisis," warned Edouard Philippe straight away, echoing the words of the President of the Republic. "Many would like me to go into detail on what will happen on May 11 and the months that follow," he agreed. But "what I want to detail, these are the principles that we used to develop this plan". The return "to life before" will not be "probably not for a long time," he said.
The latter will therefore be progressive, to "preserve the health of the French", while ensuring "the continuity of the life of the nation". "We must follow two essential conditions: restore hospital capacity and control the circulation of the virus," said Edouard Philippe again. And to continue: "We will have to learn to live with the virus [...] The population is not immune", citing between 2 and 6 million the number of citizens who have been in contact with the virus. Far, far from collective immunity.
Telework maintained as much as possible
Useless to imagine all the French return to their place of work as of May 11. Edouard Philippe has made it very clear: teleworking should continue "as far as possible". When this is not the case, barrier gestures and social distancing must absolutely be respected.
"Many of our fellow citizens have started (...) teleworking, many can do it, many have been able to take advantage of this possibility. This teleworking will have to continue as much as possible", he said. said precisely.
Mandatory masks in transport?
In the absence of effective treatment, according to Edouard Philippe, only one instrument remains: prevention. The Prime Minister therefore called for the utmost respect for barrier gestures, coupled with the provision of masks for the general public.
Masks for the general public will complement respect for barrier gestures, added Olivier Véran. The textile industry will be mobilized to produce 17 million of these masks by May 11. They should make it possible to filter droplets containing the virus. These masks will be washable and reusable between 5 and 30 times. Edouard Philippe considered it probable that the wearing of these masks in public transport would be compulsory after May 11.
Multiplication of virological tests
Édouard Philippe also confirmed the need to increase testing for all people at risk. "We will have to test a lot, quickly," he warned, adding that all people tested positive should immediately be isolated.
Today, 150,000 virological tests are carried out every week in France. The objective is to reach the 500,000 test mark per week. Regarding serological tests, the tests are still being evaluated, some tests seem to have a high level of false positives.
Containment "worked"
After having justified the deconfinement implemented on March 17 and hailed, figures in support, its respect by the French, Édouard Philippe presented the famous plateau of the number of patients in intensive care, which allowed to limit the progression of the number of patients admitted. “After reaching the peak, we gradually decrease the number of hospitalized patients. The decrease is slow, gradual, certain. It should continue if and only if confinement is respected in the coming weeks. The containment has "worked," he says.
Confinement at home or at the hotel
As of May 11, people who test positive for covid-19 may choose to confine themselves at home, with their families, or in the hotels made available to manage the epidemic.
"Schools will not reopen everywhere on May 11"
This is one of the most important subjects of this deconfinement since it will start there: how will the schools reopen? This will be progressive: "Schools will not reopen everywhere on May 11, but we must start to reopen schools," defended Edouard Philippe.
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The Prime Minister justifies this reopening because of the inequalities in access to education, generated by confinement. According to him, many children are today deprived of satisfactory access to education. Schools could open faster and more widely in the areas least affected by the epidemic.
Other avenues mentioned: hosting “class halves” or using spaces larger than classrooms. Arbitrations have yet to be made.
A “supervised” visitation right in the Ehpad
The Minister of Health devoted part of his speech to the situation in the Ehpad, in which human reinforcements were deployed, by using students in particular. To date, 45% of establishments have reported at least one case. To have a good visibility of the situation, screening tests must be multiplied. 50,000 tests were carried out this week in nursing homes, said Olivier Véran, who announced the generalization of access rights, at the request of the resident and limited to two people per resident. No physical contact will be allowed with the elderly. This system will also apply to establishments for the disabled.
Tensions on FFP2 masks
At the start of the epidemic, France had a stock of 117 million masks intended for the hospital environment, with a production capacity of four million masks in January. This capacity has doubled today to reach 8 million masks.
The Prime Minister conceded the difficulties in importing masks, especially from China, still welcoming progress this week, the imports having, according to him, greatly exceeded this week's need for masks in hospitals.
Olivier Véran was in charge of the bad news, recognizing the tensions for the provision of FFP2 masks. The Minister of Health has also expressed concerns about resuscitation drugs, the consumption of which has increased by more than 2000% worldwide.
Many unknowns about the virus
Florence Ader, infectious disease specialist at the Croix-Rousse hospital in Lyon, was responsible for detailing knowledge about the virus and the unknowns that persist. Scientists still don't know why men are more affected than women, and why children seem to be little affected. Specialists are not yet able to know if the contamination of the disease is immunizing. This is essential with a view to deconfinement, in the event that the authorities hope to count on collective immunity. In terms of research, more than thirty studies have been launched in the country, involving 1,600 patients.
A leaden economy
"It will be the strongest recession known in France since 1945," warned Édouard Philippe, taking up the perspectives outlined in the amending finance bill. Freefall growth of 8% in 2020. During containment, economic activity fell by 36% overall, by 43% in industry, 88% in construction and even 90% in accommodation and restoration.
To cope, 24 billion euros have been released to finance partial unemployment, which affects some 9 million workers in France. An envelope of 300 billion euros is used to finance loans guaranteed by the State. Another seven billion are dedicated to the solidarity fund, which has been the subject of a million requests.