While the bill framing the deconfinement was presented this Saturday in the Council of Ministers, Olivier Véran warns of a relaxation. In an interview with the Parisian - Today in France, the Minister of Health recalls that "the entire scenario built depends on compliance with confinement", the lifting of which is scheduled for May 11. He recommends that the French do not book their holidays for the moment. He also announces the free distribution of 100 million masks per week for liberal health professionals from May 11. And expresses a reluctance on the sale of surgical masks in supermarkets.
Are you sure that the deconfinement will take place on May 11?
OLIVIER VÉRAN . We have a goal: that on May 11, there are enough few patients per day to test, trace and isolate to succeed deconfinement. If the confinement is respected until the end, the lid will have been put on the pan of the epidemic, and we will be able to deconfinate gradually in the best conditions. Otherwise, and if the number of new patients should be too high, the date of lifting of confinement could be questioned and will be assessed by the departments.
So, if the indicators to come are not good, we backtrack?
The latest models from scientists suggest that the containment may be gradually lifted as planned on May 11. But I warn by recalling that the entire scenario built depends on respect, until the last moment, of confinement. We will not take any risk with the health of the French.
In recent days there has been a relaxation in many cities. More cars and more people on the streets ...
The famous R0 - the reproductive factor of the virus - which had dropped to 0.5 has now risen to 0.6. It is the sign of a certain relaxation, even if in the state the epidemic remains in decline, since 0.6, this means that 10 patients only contaminate 6 patients the following week. In Germany, it was reassessed between 0.9 and 1 following the start of deconfinement.
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Will the French be able to go on vacation this summer?
Unfortunately I do not have the answer and I do not know if the beaches can be opened. But unfortunately there is little chance that the virus will decide to go on vacation. In the absence of treatment and vaccine, the behavior of the French will have considerable weight.
Do you advise against taking a plane ticket?
In medicine, patients to whom we explain a treatment with a degree of uncertainty often ask us: you, what would you do if it was one of your loved ones? Personally, I would not commit to the purchase of a plane ticket. Let's not be in too much of a rush to make reservations.
The Scientific Council was pleading for a reopening of the schools in September. Did he disown you?
No. The Scientific Council was opposed to the reopening of schools "as before", which was never our will. So we agree. The conditions for resuming lessons are being worked with the rectorates, the heads of educational establishments, the staff, the local elected representatives. The return to class will be very supervised: masked teachers in all situations where the rules of distancing cannot (or risk not) being respected, distance of one meter assured between students ... If cases of coronavirus are confirmed, we will not hesitate to close classes or even entire schools. The day after my visit to Crépy-en-Valois, one of the first centers of the epidemic, we had closed 108 establishments. When we have a concern, we act.
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Many parents assure that they will not send their children to class on May 11. What do you tell them to convince them?
I want to reassure parents: the return to school will be on a voluntary basis. After eight weeks, the containment of the youngest is however difficult to wear, including for the children themselves. We ensure their safety. I understand the fear but we call for trust. If we are proposing to reopen it, it is because the work that has been done will allow it. Health has always guided all of our decisions.
We are talking about the second wave. How do you make sure that the system will hold up, especially if the other patients return to the hospital?
We will maintain the restriction of the programmed activity in surgery, in order to be ready in the event of a resurgence of the epidemic. But oncology operations, and the others, urgent or ambulatory, in particular for the chronic pathologies, which do not require place in resuscitation or curares, will be maintained.
VIDEO. Olivier Véran announces the extension of the state of health emergency until July 24
What about medical, dental, etc? Will they be able to reopen?
It is the objective. I will also create, for all liberal staff, the conditions which will allow them to gradually resume a normal activity as soon as the barrier measures can be respected.
That is to say ? They will finally have sufficient masks?
So far, 45 million masks have been destocked per week for health professionals. From May 11, 100 million will be distributed to them free of charge. Certain professions, which cannot work without, such as dentists, will have FFP2 masks. For doctors, pharmacists and nurses, it will be 3 to 4 surgical masks or FFP2 per day. The other professionals - opticians, orthoptists, psychomotricians - will also have masks. Thanks to all the orders placed in recent weeks, we have been able to consolidate a stock of 155 million masks.
The question of the shortage, of the routing of the masks, is therefore behind us?
I will be very careful of certainties in this matter, especially since the epidemic has not passed.
On March 6, you declared: "I insist: the use of masks in the general population is not recommended and is not useful. How do you explain this reversal?
There is no turnaround, but a very strong scientific development. We have always wanted to emphasize that masks are not the alpha and omega of protection. Especially until April 1, all the recommendations did not advocate the wearing of masks in general. I am thinking of the Academy of Medicine, the Scientific Council, the High Council of Public Health, the WHO. But from April 1, opinions changed. Why ? Because the doctrine has evolved based on experience. As soon as we had a notice recommending the wearing of the mask, we therefore also evolved. I've heard of a state lie, I'm 10,000 leagues from it all. I arrived on February 17 in this ministry ... and that there were not enough masks in the country, it is not my fault.
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Even with price caps, some families will not be able to afford them. How are you going to do it ?
There is already free access for the most precarious, with five million masks for the general public which will be distributed each week from May 11, through the CCAS (Communal Centers for Social Action) and associative actors. With the law of supply and demand, the product will be less and less expensive. It is out of the question that we arrive at delusional prices. Without waiting, Bercy has already mobilized the teams of the DGCCRF (Directorate General for Competition, Consumption and the Repression of Fraud) to monitor prices and sanction abuses.
Large retailers have decided to sell surgical masks. What do you think ?
The law does not forbid it. But I would have preferred that the distribution of these masks remained managed by the pharmacists and was intended for the medical public, the vulnerable and the sick. The priority for me is that health professionals, the vulnerable and the sick can have surgical masks. Large retailers are authorized to sell their stocks as soon as this condition is met.
But why this reluctance? The users are perhaps satisfied to be able to obtain this type of mask in supermarkets ...
Caregivers must have care goggles and the general public use masks that are filter and reusable. We are coming out of a period when caregivers have not always had access to masks in sufficient quantities. So I understand their emotion, even their anger. Large retailers, however, do not really have stocks and have only announced orders for the moment.
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And after the coronavirus, will the mask impose itself in our daily life?
Perhaps during an influenza epidemic, if it proved to be effective in use, but no more. When we wipe out this damn virus, the idea is that we will find a normal life.
You speak of trained brigades, capable of tracing the entourage of the sick ... In ten days, will they be ready?
More than 3000 people trained in health insurance will be responsible for tracing contacts close to positive cases. They will have access to an information system, currently being finalized. If there are grouped homes, regional health agencies will take over. Remember, they were very effective in finding contact cases in the Oise or Contamines-Montjoie. If there are more patients than expected, the staff will be increased. An article of law, presented this Saturday, will give them access, by way of derogation and only for the purposes of combating Covid-19, to the Amelipro file of Health Insurance. We did everything to be ready.
And 700,000 tests per week, is this an achievable goal?
We have encouraged the labs to develop tests, which we will fund 100%. They were also authorized to carry out more drive tests. They are committed to scaling up. I made phone calls myself to find out. If they lack swabs, stocks are blocked at customs, they must call us. We will unblock the situation. A cell has even been set up at the ministry to ensure the logistics, which are complex. And we have strengthened hospitals with 20 broadband platforms, each capable of carrying out 2,000 tests per day.
VIDEO. Edouard Philippe: "700,000 virological tests per week from May 11"
This crisis has highlighted the importance of rebuilding the public hospital. Will this site be one of your priorities?
If I told you no, that would mean that I did not understand what is happening! However, I had even understood it before. So the answer is yes. City medicine will also have my full attention. Telemedicine, which was not taking off, took off thanks to the epidemic. Several hundred thousand acts per week! What if it was the end of medical deserts?
The President spoke of "shortcomings" in this crisis. What did he mean?
Is France operational to deal with major climatic, industrial or epidemic disasters? I am not convinced. We can see that the doctors, the carers, the regional health agencies, the health insurance, the prefects were remarkable for their commitment and their efficiency. Many in my ministry work night and day. But it seems obvious that we will have to rethink our capacities to anticipate and manage this kind of crisis. And we are far from alone.
Thursday evening, on BFM, Didier Raoult said that "the coronavirus is not extremely contagious and of extraordinary mortality". Do you agree ?
Prof. Raoult is inventive, ingenious, a jack of all trades, capable of finding solutions to cope with a high demand for tests. He is also a great virologist who has made internationally recognized publications. I do not deprive him of any of his qualities. But I would say that in terms of forecast, I prefer to refer to experts who do not say that there will be fewer deaths from the coronavirus than by scooter accidents! Or who do not say that there will be no second wave after saying that there will be no first. It is not very responsible and I will tell him.
PODCAST. Who is Professor Didier Raoult?
A new treatment, tocilizumab, seems to be a real hope. What do you think ?
For this treatment as for others, before rejoicing, I await the opinion of the experts. France is in any case the country of clinical trials, it is a pride and not a surprise.
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Several cases of Kawasaki, a serious inflammatory disease, have been reported in Ile-de-France in children. Is there a link with the coronavirus?
I spoke with the doctors at Necker. In total, they have already treated 23 children since April 15, all in good health, aged 5 to 16, admitted to intensive care for severe symptoms, suggestive of Kawasaki. None of them died fortunately. All were said to have been exposed to the coronavirus, not necessarily recently. We are looking to connect.
How will you find out?
A genetic analysis is underway to find out if it is a mutated form. All the pediatric resuscitations in France are on alert to send back the reports that I follow day by day.
We have heard of dissonances at the top of the state. Are there tensions?
I don't feel any tension. I have not been a minister for a long time, but I have known in another mandate governments that have shown themselves repeatedly with their hiccups. It never was with this one. The machine is well oiled and I have always felt comfortable with the decisions made.
Do you have contact with your predecessor? Does she advise you?
No, Agnès Buzyn does not advise me in managing the crisis. However, I did have the opportunity to have informal calls with her to hear from her.
And you, what does your confinement look like?
My official apartment is on the same floor as my office. I have to walk about 400 steps a day (he laughs) . I also spend a lot of time at Matignon and the Elysée. My 40th birthday, I celebrated them on video with friends and family. I work every day until late at night. Given my mission, I do not live in the same way as many French people, but I manage to project myself perfectly into the difficulty of confinement. I understand that they are fed up. I am amazed by their ability to have respected it.
On a personal level, what have you learned from this crisis?
I am a doctor and neurologist. It is a complicated discipline because one does not always cure illnesses, sometimes very serious. I spent a lot of time explaining that you had to live with a pathology. In this crisis, I believe that my job helps me to communicate with people. But whether you wear the white blouse, the tricolor scarf of an elected official or whether you are a minister, you basically stay the same.