Despite the imminent reopening, the reservations that are pouring into his hotel Les Mouettes and the view every morning on the Gulf of Ajaccio, Jean-Baptiste Pieri is worried. Worried, because the recruitment and return to work of its employees promises to be more complex than usual. Worried, because in the absence of vaccination of its employees the summer could turn into a puzzle. Worried, finally, because this forced deconfinement poses a threat to the high season.
“What will be the consequences of reopening with high virus circulation ?, wonders this owner of two upscale hotels in Corsica. The risk is to have cases of Covid-19 to manage in establishments. All tourism professionals would have preferred severe confinement in February, rather than the Chinese torture to which we have been subjected since. “
According to the latest forecasts from the Institut Pasteur, with a more sustained vaccination rate than today (500,000 daily injections), epidemic control similar to last summer and relatively controlled deconfinement until the end. June, a new peak would be reached between July 15 and 1er August. Unless the more favorable climate plays on the transmissibility of the British variant – a hypothesis qualified as optimistic – the level of new daily hospitalizations would never return to that of last summer. At the time, the relaxation of barrier gestures did not cause a second wave, due to the very low level of traffic at the beginning of the summer.
“Contact cases, it can get hot boiling”
On the whole, professionals project themselves with a mixture of enthusiasm and awe. This time the virus is on everyone’s mind. They know the indiscipline linked to summer reunions on the customer side, and the imperative of “Make a success of the season” bosses side. Last summer, organizations were already calling for more checks on the health protocol, especially in seaside resorts. The protocol for this reopening has not yet been negotiated with the government.
“We have unfortunately become real policemen vis-à-vis customers, regrets Eric Huet, owner of the Lion d’Or hotel-spa, in Pont-l’Evêque (Calvados). We are worried because we have the impression that life will start afresh and therefore the epidemic too. But I am a business leader and I understand that the economy is taking over. “
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