In the Ehpad, the government orders to isolate the residents in their apartments are applied by the staff ... for lack of alternative. Invited to Europe 1 on Sunday, the director of the establishment Eric-Angelo Bellini spoke of a "default choice", forced by the absence of protective and screening equipment.

INTERVIEW

How do the 700,000 residents of Ehpad in France experience confinement? Through the voice of the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, the government recommended to generalize in these establishments the isolation of the elderly, a population particularly exposed to the threat of coronavirus. This measure is gradually being applied by all establishments. "We do it by default because we don't have a test, because we don't know who is a carrier and who is healthy," said Eric-Angelo Bellini, director of Ehpad, on Sunday at the microphone. Europe 1.

>> LIVE - Coronavirus: follow the evolution of the situation Sunday March 29

In his establishment in Pleumartin in Vienne, Eric-Angelo Bellini decided to confine his staff at the same time as his residents, as a precautionary measure. A "voluntary", "pragmatic" choice in his words, but also a "serious question of ethics". For the elderly living in these residences, the virtual absence of contact weighs heavily on morale. They have for several weeks already been deprived of visits from their families and relatives. "It ruins my values ​​and my personal ethics [...] It is not light to reduce the social life of our residents."

Lack of masks and screening tests

However, by the director's own admission, this decision was made necessary by the lack of equipment. Tests for the screening of staff and residents are absent, as are the masks ensuring their protection. "The few FFP2 asci we have, it is the village veterinarian who gave them to us," alarmed Eric-Angelo Bellini.

CORONAVIRUS ESSENTIALS

> Paid leave, RTT, sick leave: what changes the state of health emergency

> What do we know about chloroquine, the treatment that is debating?

> What to do if you are sick, but not coronavirus?

> Why you will have to be patient to be reimbursed for a canceled trip

> Homemade bread, short circuits ... Our solutions to continue to eat well during confinement

> Sex: how to manage abstinence during confinement?

Also invited by Europe 1, the director of the Association of Directors for the Elderly, Romain Gizolme, added: "We asked Olivier Véran that all structures could have [masks]. He announced that it would be the case." Noting the difficulties still encountered by certain establishments in order to benefit from it, he concludes: "Masks must arrive in all structures tomorrow."