Passengers from China wearing a mask at Roissy Charles-de-Gaulle airport. - Alain JOCARD / AFP

  • The Minister of Health, Agnès Buzyn, announced this Sunday that a dozen cases were currently under surveillance, in addition to the three cases positive for the Chinese coronavirus already identified.
  • The fear of a possible spread of the virus pushed many of our compatriots to go to pharmacies to get a protective mask.
  • There are no longer FFP2 masks in pharmacies, which are prevention masks, and basic surgical masks are also starting to fail.

The concern rose a notch this weekend in France, after the identification of three cases of coronavirus on travelers recently returned from China. And it is far from finished, the Minister of Health, Agnès Buzyn, having announced this Sunday, that a dozen cases were currently under surveillance.

The fear of a possible spread of the infection with coronavirus pushed many of our compatriots to go in pharmacy to get a protective mask. What caused a stock shortage in pharmacies, explains to 20 Minutes Martial Fraysse, former president of the Regional Order of Pharmacists of Ile-de-France and member of the National Academy of Pharmacy: "We can no longer find FFP2 type masks, prevention masks, which allow caregivers or those around a patient to protect themselves from the virus. On the other hand, we still manage to find basic surgical masks that allow people with a virus not to transmit it to others, but not healthy people to protect themselves against external infections, ”he explains.

"We haven't had a mask since the start of the weekend"

And the lack is particularly felt in the pharmacies of the 13th arrondissement of Paris, where a strong Chinese community resides. "We have not had a mask since the start of the weekend," says Evelyne, who works at the Vincent Auriol pharmacy. "I have already had ten requests since this morning because people are afraid," said Sylvain, pharmacist at the pharmacy Maman-Lellouch in the 13th district, contacted at the end of the morning this Sunday.

At the White House pharmacy in the 13th arrondissement, at noon, Anita declares that she has sold 150 surgical masks since the start of the morning. “We have limited the number of purchases to 5 masks per person to satisfy the greatest number of people. And we make it clear to people that these masks are not very effective in protecting themselves, unlike FFP2. They buy it anyway, saying that it's better than nothing, ”she says.

A request that does not come only from the Chinese community

“It is a very Parisian phenomenon, linked to Asian people staying in Paris, who want to stock up before going home. And to people who travel a lot and frequent airports and train stations ", notes Carine Wolf-Thal, president of the national council of the order of pharmacists" If at the start, the demand came mainly from people from the Chinese community who wanted to use its masks themselves and send them to their families, in recent days, we see all types of people asking us. Especially those who are anxious by nature, ”adds Martial Fraysse. In addition “people already weakened by a respiratory or immune system pathology are more likely than others to seek protection against a new infection,” explains Carine Wolf-Thal. "People who take public transport tell us that they are afraid," says Line, a pharmacist at the big pharmacy in Riquet.

"The suppliers did not anticipate such a request and are quickly found overwhelmed," observes Martial Fraysse. But this shortage can also be explained by the prudent management of stocks made by pharmacists: “We remember that in 2009, faced with the risk of spread of the A / H1N1 flu, the government had ordered more than one billion masks, many of which had not been used, ”recalls Carine Wolf-Thal.

"People who take public transport tell us they are afraid"

But the stock shortage of FFP2 masks will not last, according to Carine Wolf-Thal. : "The suppliers have promised to deliver some in the course of next week". And for pharmacists, visiting these worried customers is also an opportunity to reassure them: "We explain to them that in the event of a cough and fever, they must stay at home and call 115. And that there is no may be just a flu. On the other hand, you have to be vigilant in these cases when you return from China or when you have been around someone who has returned, ”adds Martial Frayse.

As for people who will use public transport or public places in the coming days, pharmacists give them common sense recommendations: "It is advisable to wash your hands, use hydroalcoholic gel when leaving transport, cough in his arm and use disposable tissues ”, recalls Carine Wolf-Thal.

World

Coronavirus LIVE: Agnès Buzyn announces that “a dozen cases are under surveillance” in France…

Society

Coronavirus: How is France organizing to prevent the spread of the epidemic?

  • coronavirus
  • Paris
  • China
  • Virus
  • Society
  • Health