Paris (AFP)

The strong heat which afflicts part of France complicates the management of the risk of Covid-19 in establishments for the elderly, which have paid a heavy price for the health crisis and faced in July a slight rebound in the virus.

"The heat wave protocols must be made to coincide with those linked to the evolution of the Covid, which is not obvious", told AFP Eric Fregona, deputy director of the association of directors of establishments AD-PA.

For him, it is not easy to combine "hydration and humidification of the body with barrier gestures". In addition, the common areas having more limited reception capacities, "we must be much more present with the elderly, offer them showers or fresh towels more regularly, as much human time and staff already exhausted by five months of crisis, ”he continues.

According to figures released Thursday evening by Public Health France, over the past two weeks, 70 establishments (out of nearly 7,000 in France) have declared at least one new confirmed case of Covid-19 among residents or staff.

"In increase since the beginning of July", the number of reports seems however "to stabilize during this last week" with 80 reports of infected people against 108 the previous week, specifies the organization.

To prevent further spread of the virus - nearly half of the 30,000 or so Covid-19 deaths in France were nursing home residents (who died in their establishment or in hospital) - several retirement homes preferred to put in place a confinement, particularly in Brittany or in the Alpes-Maritimes.

At the Alexis Julien nursing home in Ploudalmézeau (Finistère), where visits from outsiders have again been prohibited since July 16, re-containment was the "most reasonable and rational decision to make", argued last week with AFP its director David Guével, indicating that there were a hundred cases of Covid within a radius of 30 km around Brest.

- Turn on the air conditioning or not? -

"There are some establishments where the doors have been closed. But the situation remains very local, according to the epidemic outbreaks", confirms to AFP Annabelle Vêques, director of the National Federation of associations of directors of establishments and services for people elderly (Fnadepa), which brings together a thousand professionals.

For her, "vigilance remains strong in nursing homes because the virus circulates at low noise".

However, the situation is "less tense" than in March-April. "At the slightest suspicion, a test campaign is carried out, the mask is still compulsory, barrier gestures are applied," she continues.

Mme Vêques calls on "the responsibility of visitors": "we all really want to hug our loved ones, but in the face of vulnerable people, this is not reasonable. If another wave arrives, in addition to the heat , it will be difficult to manage for the staff and for the residents as well ".

On Friday, the heat will be very intense in France and 32 departments have been placed on orange heatwave alert. This episode will be locally sustainable from the Rhône valley to Savoies, according to Météo France.

And using air conditioners is complicated because they can circulate the virus. Thus, according to the protocol of the Ministry of Health, only ventilation allowing to bring in "new" air coming from the outside is authorized.

"The problem is the mixing of air", specified Thursday evening on RTL the general delegate of Synerpa (private nursing home) Florence Arnaiz-Maumé, calling to be vigilant with "recirculated air conditioners" which "must be used with caution and rather in empty rooms: the room is cooled first and then the residents are brought back ".

But "it is a peak of heat, not a heat wave, so it is quite manageable", she qualified, recalling that the establishments have developed "an anti-heat wave arsenal" since the deadly episode of 2003 which had kills 15,000.

© 2020 AFP