Facing Covid-19, should we go for a total confinement? It’s the question on the agenda of this State Council held this Sunday March 22nd, 2020. While French people are asked to stay at home since the address of President Emmanuel Macron on new confinement measures on Monday March 16th, the medical staff and many observers regret a lack of awareness and too many instructions not respected.
Yet, after a 2,5 hours meeting, the institution "orders the government to reassess some dispensations as for today's confinement". In clear? Toughening and limiting dispensations with the urgency of the situation. More precisely, they call for precising dispensations as for trips for health matter, or for short trips to work out nearby.
Dispensations articles known by everyone but that seem "too wide" for the State Council. It also involves open markets which use should be reassessed "given their size and their level of frequentation". For the reinforcement of testing, another topic on the agenda of this exceptional meeting, members of the institution consider the government "has taken the necessary provisions".
As a consequence, the French “Syndicat des Jeunes Médecins” [Young Doctor Union Trade] and the “Intersyndicale nationale des internes” [Interns’ National Joint Union] together speak in favor of a total and general confinement in France to the State Council. Their goal? Forcing the French population to a total lockdown, at least as long as it needs to contain the progression of the epidemic in France. Since the beginning of the coronavirus epidemic, hospital staff trade unions call for a certain coherence of the management of the health crisis not hesitating to show the government’s obvious mistakes when necessary.
In the same time, the French National Medical Council chairman Patrick Bouet reminded on BFM TV today that it was first and foremost to ask the State Council “strong domestic decisions” guaranteeing a certain “uniformity and rigor” when implementing these measures.
Alerts vigorously repeated to all political leaders in light of the current situation. Run too far from home, food markets still open: the behavior of some French show a true lack of respect of instructions. According to associations and medical staff’s trade unions, it takes part in the increase of the number of contacts and represents a high propagation risk for the upcoming days. Especially if no one acts accordingly.
Among the new and effective measures, the same trade unions asked the State Council for instance to close markets, to limit outings to the bare minimum, whether it’s to buy food or for health matter. Moreover, they also offered to get organized on provisions with the help of applications of digital tools. The goal is to first and foremost avoid affluence zones by the stores and avoid contact risks. Topics that are not ecessary yet, according to the State Council.
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