"A few dozen" of French will be repatriated this weekend from China, the area most affected by the epidemic of the new coronavirus, and will be quarantined in a place yet to be determined, announced Wednesday the Director General of the health Jérôme Salomon. This fourth repatriation flight is expected Friday and the accommodation of returnees, "in a holiday village, is being organized," said number 2 of the Ministry of Health at a press conference.
"As for the first three flights, these are only people with no symptoms, there will be on board the presence of a medical assistance team," he added. These returnees will be confined for 14 days and tested twice to make sure they are not infected. The objective of the health authorities is to "replicate a little what had worked very well in Carry-le-Rouet, with very pleasant accommodation conditions ... but it will not be in Carry-le-Rouet" because fewer people, said Professor Salomon.
"The idea is to repatriate people who are still in the red zone"
Details of the location and time of arrival for this flight will be released on Thursday. "The idea is to repatriate people who are still in the red zone", that is to say in the epicenter zone of the epidemic, he said. The epicenter of the epidemic is Hubei Province and its capital Wuhan.
No new case of coronavirus infection was discovered on French territory, the assessment remaining unchanged with 12 confirmed cases in total (four hospitalizations without signs of severity, seven cured and one death). Similarly, the results remain unchanged for the four French on board the liner Diamond Princess placed in quarantine in Japan: three passengers have tested positive and are hospitalized but "show almost no symptoms," reported Jerome Salomon. The fourth Frenchman is a member of the crew who has not contracted the disease and is "continuing his work" on board.