What timetable to get out of the coronavirus crisis? Increase in vaccination, reopening of living quarters in mid-May … The government is making more promises. But for their part, doctors and researchers have doubts.
“We are going to build between mid-May and the beginning of summer a calendar of gradual reopening for culture, sport, leisure, events, our cafes and restaurants”, promised Emmanuel Macron on March 31, 2021 during his televised address. A sentence that has not fallen on deaf ears. This light at the end of the tunnel named coronavirus is delightful, but behind the good news, specialists and even members of the government are questioning, even contradicting the promises of a return to an almost normal life.
# 1 The reopening of living spaces, especially restaurants
Invited on the set of the RTL / Le Figaro / LCI Grand Jury on April 4, 2021, Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy, Finance and Recovery, qualified the remarks made by the President. At the question “Will this schedule go as planned?”, he replied cautiously: “I would rather disappoint you and be honest, and coherent, rather than sell illusions to the French. We have an appointment in mid-May. In mid-May, we will take stock of the health situation and the development of vaccination. If in mid-May the sanitary conditions are met, we will see what types of activities can resume. ” An answer that leaves little doubt about the reality in mid-May, that is to say in just a few weeks.
For her part, Karine Lacombe, infectious disease specialist, considers the prospects for reopening too ambitious. “Right now, there are too many unknowns in the equation. I think mid-May is extremely early. Will it get better? I hope. Whether you’re on a terrace sipping a Spritz, it’s going to be difficult if not impossible, she said at RTL’s microphone on Monday, April 5, 2021. The prospect of mid-May may have been misinterpreted. Maybe starting in May, we’ll start to lift the measures and gradually move towards a more normal life, but from there everything is open, I think that’s excessive. “
As for a potential resumption of activity only on the terrace, the restaurateur.ice.s have a clear opinion: “What are we going to do with small establishments in historic streets which have almost no sidewalks and which cannot have terraces?, launched Sabine Ferrand, president of the Union of hotel trades and industries in Center-Val de Loire, interviewed by France Bleu Berry. You can’t open a restaurant with 10 or 15 seats. You need at least one person in the kitchen and a chef, that pays well “. For Christophe Marguin, chef and president of Toques blancs lyonnaises, present on BFMTV, “If we open up to 50%, our businesses are not viable”. It is therefore very likely that the reopening of restaurants will wait.
# 2 stopping wearing a mask
On Tuesday April 6, 2021, the President of the Republic invited himself to a history-geography course in videoconference with college students from the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence. During this exchange, reported by West France, a student asked him a question about the duration of wearing the mask and Emmanuel Macron recalled that we should wear it “until this summer […] to the maximum “, before hoping to have “conditions a little lighter at the start of the next school year”. Another interesting announcement, but how to say goodbye to the mask if France is not fully vaccinated after the summer? Everything will therefore be decided at the level of vaccination.
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# 3 higher speed for vaccination
Vaccinodromes, home injections, France wants to move up a gear to “prick” 50,000 people every week. The goal is to reach 20 million vaccinated in mid-May and 30 million in mid-June. As of Monday, April 5, 2021, around 9.5 million people had already received a first injection (14.2% of the total population) and 3.2 million had received two. In an article published on Tuesday April 6, 2021 on the Institut Pasteur website, scientists call for vaccination at a very high rate to keep the epidemic “under control” by September 1. “In the fall of 2021, our ability to relax control measures will depend on the vaccination coverage achieved in the different age groups and the transmission characteristics of the dominant virus, they explain. For a given vaccination coverage, we estimated the reduction in the transmission rate in the general population that will remain necessary so that the number of COVID-19 hospitalizations does not exceed 1000 daily admissions (about 3 times less than what has been observed). during the first and second waves). ”
However, as noted Point “vaccination skated again on Easter weekend”. Far from Emmanuel Macron’s commitments. Several organizers of vaccination centers and mayors note the limited number of doses available. And what about the French who are still reluctant to take vaccines? There are still many who do not trust the AstraZeneca or to Pfizer. In short, the challenge and the means available seem insufficient for France to find a more normal daily life in so few weeks. We will therefore have to be patient, again.
Celine Peschard
Journalist who loves the versatility that his profession can offer. Specialized in the historical field, societal subjects and auteur films, against a background of electronic music. University course based on …