France’s Science Council Sound the Alarm in Covid-19 Fight

The southern city of Toulouse joined the ranks of local authorities Tuesday taking steps to oblige people to wear masks outdoors in certain situations, on top of the national requirement to cover up in shops and other shared spaces indoors.

The science council said the government's response to a "probable second wave" of coronavirus infections will have to be different from the first.

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It urged the authorities to put in place "prevention plans" for France's largest and densely-populated metropolitan areas, with localized home-confinement strategies to be tightened or loosened in step with epidemic development.

Yonathan Freund, an emergency doctor at Paris's Pitie-Salpetriere hospital, is among experts to caution against over-reacting.

"The situation in France today does not justify saying there has been a worsening," he told AFP.

"If there are 1,000 cases per day, it is because the virus is still in circulation, and it is normal," he said.

And epidemiologist Antoine Flahault said the focus of authorities seems to have shifted from preventing another run on hospital beds — an acceptable risk approach — to suppressing virus circulation to the lowest possible level, or a doctrine of "zero risk". 

(Writer: Paul Ricard)

Source: http://u.afp.com/3XSE