France has been living in confinement since October 30, 2020. This Tuesday evening the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron announced an easing of the confinement. In a column published the same day, France Ass…

Coronavirus: "We must oppose an extremely vigorous strategy"

Professor Axel Kahn, geneticist and president of the National League against Cancer.

RFI

Text by: RFI Follow

4 min

France has been living in confinement since October 30, 2020. This Tuesday evening the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron announced an easing of the confinement.

In a column published the same day, France Assos Santé (which brings together associations of users of the health system), calls for vigorous measures to fight effectively against the virus.

Interview with Prof. Axel Kahn, president of the Ligue contre le cancer (association which is part of France Assos Santé).

Publicity

RFI: You call in this forum to do everything possible to bring the epidemic under control to avoid the “

stop and go

” and a third wave;
the damage each time is too heavy.

Axel Kahn:

Yes, the damage is too heavy, for the citizens, for the

economy

, for the psyche of the young, the old, the old.

Too heavy also for all the

collateral damage

of the Covid, in particular, given my current duties, for all people with cancer.

We cannot afford to confine, deconfin, reconfine, redeconfine, etc., it is not possible.

But the Sars-Cov2 sticks to the skin everywhere, it is Captain Haddock's adhesive plaster, we don't get rid of it like that, so we have to oppose it an extremely vigorous strategy.

What do you think this strategy should be?

Overall, when we confine, we greatly reduce viral circulation;

the next problem is to prevent it from increasing again.

We do this by a set of measures.

First, there must be maximum physical distancing and the maintenance of all barrier gestures while non-essential businesses will reopen (Christmas shopping).

And the strategy must be implemented: test - trace - isolate - protect.

The protection of isolated people is essential for people to agree to isolate themselves.

If people who have been found to be infectious are not isolated, there is absolutely no point in having tested.

Isolation is part of the authorities' strategy.

What went wrong

?
And what to do to make it work?

Isolation today is very difficult under certain circumstances.

There are people who work for the day, have a daily salary and have a lot of difficulty considering taking a 7-day break.

There are people who live in such conditions that they cannot isolate themselves at home.

Nothing is planned.

We are not going to lock people up in a cell, or in a hotel room with nothing.

Therefore, for the strategy to be effective, the person must be able to be isolated in a suitable place (with television, or radio, etc.), be able to have access to quality meals, be able to have a daily allowance that compensates for the 'possible loss of professional earnings.

The

sine qua non

of effective isolation is the protection of the people you isolate.

►

To read also: France: Emmanuel Macron announces a reduction of the confinement in three stages

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Coronavirus: "We must oppose an extremely vigorous strategy"

Coronavirus: "We must oppose an extremely vigorous strategy"

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