REPORTAGE
Towards a closure of doctors 'and dentists' offices? Some of them, working in Lyon, are considering it. In fact, they will soon no longer have protective masks to protect themselves and their patients from coronavirus. While ten boxes of 50 masks were distributed in pharmacies for health professionals, at the beginning of March, Mathilde, a pharmacist in the 2nd arrondissement of Lyon is formal: "today, we don't have any more".
The pharmacies work with many practitioners, especially in the big cities, and the meager stocks quickly ran out. Consequence: many firms are in short supply.
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"For me, it's very clear, I will close my doors"
"We are three doctors, a midwife and nurses", explains one of the doctors in a practice in the center of Lyon. "We only have a few left, so we won't end the week," he adds. "We had a first box, then a second box, but if a lot of people come to the office and start coughing, 50 masks is not enough."
A dental surgeon, Dr. Chantal Malins normally uses a hundred masks per week. "A patient has an open mouth all the time so we are on the front line," she explains. The latter therefore explains that the council of the national order of dental surgeons sent a letter to the ministry to warn them. "If in the future the state did not provide us with masks, we would have to stop our activities in dental offices," she said. "For me, it's very clear, I will close my doors."
A decision that would not be without consequence. If the offices of city doctors and dentists close, the risk is that everyone will converge on the emergency services, which are already saturated.