A police patrol in Cannes.

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SYSPEO / SIPA

The infectious disease specialist Eric Caumes pleaded on Sunday in favor of the reopening of cultural and sporting venues, "devastated" because of the Covid-19 epidemic, in the name of the mental health of the French who "fall into disaster".

"We must make a gesture" towards the world of culture and sport "which are completely devastated", said Dr Caumes on BFMTV.

"I think we really have to relaunch all this because we all fall into the disaster, we turn into zombies, without culture, without leisure other than those that we have at home, without sport", pleaded the chef. of infectious and tropical diseases at the Pitié Salpêtrière Hospital.

Lower risks

"From the moment we respect the barrier measures, even in places where there are a lot of public such as theaters, stadiums, museums, I think that the risks (of being contaminated, Editor's note) are much lower than in the family, professional or school environment ”, underlined the doctor.

"We contaminate ourselves when we remove the mask, in a closed place and we do not respect physical distancing," he recalled, and judges the French "reasonable" on the respect of barrier gestures.

It is "possible" that the winter holidays "do not accentuate the epidemic".

"The limit is not very far"

"Even if as doctors in the hospitals of Paris, we are suffering, I am not sure that confinement would improve the psychological parameters which are rather worrying", with "20% of depressed", he said insisted.

He nevertheless expressed concern about the situation in hospitals, if the epidemic were to explode.

“The limit is not very far, we are so close to sea level that we are afraid.

Afterwards, we are fully aware of the psychological, social and economic problems, and I understand the decisions that have been taken ”not to confine the country, added Dr Caumes, insisting on the“ global dimension of health ”.

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