France: a return to health tension

Text by: RFI Follow

5 mins

The calendar for the government to return to school was shaken up by the deterioration of the health situation. Instead of a Council of Ministers devoted to the recovery plan as planned before the summer truce, Emmanuel Macron will chair this Tuesday morning a Defense Council dedicated to the preparation of a return to school under the sign of the Covid.

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In a few weeks, the order of priorities changed. The latest figures on the circulation of the virus, which show an increase, have therefore prompted Emmanuel Macron and Jean Castex to focus on preparing for the sanitary conditions for the start of the school year and to postpone the presentation of the economic activity recovery plan until next week. .

At the Élysée, we are assured, this decision was taken during the meeting in Brégançon between the president and the Prime Minister due to the spread of the virus, not because the plan was not ready. The epidemic situation, which seemed to be under control in July, deteriorated during the summer. Nearly 4,900 new cases have been identified in the past 24 hours.

The idea is therefore to start by taking stock of issues related to Covid during a Defense Council and then the Council of Ministers on Wednesday to assess the conditions for a return to school where the epidemic will impact the return of employees at work and students at school, always with the question of the obligation to wear a mask at the heart of debates and worrying local situations such as in the Bouches-du-Rhône. A return to the first health tension.

► Also to listen: Back to school: a compulsory mask to reassure but gray areas remain

Back to school full of uncertainties

The start of the school year is fast approaching and the back-to-school measures for children are very much criticized: early date, generalization of the wearing of masks difficult to apply.

The only danger is that teachers at risk will become infected. This is where we have to put the package. (...) I believe much more in the effectiveness of measures targeted at high-risk patients than to tell all students to respect a distance between students because we know that it will not work.

Professor Frédéric Adnet, director of the emergency department of the Avicenne hospital in Bobigny

Nicolas rocca

► To read also: France: a high-risk political return for Emmanuel Macron

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