Coronavirus: it is too early to assess the effectiveness of lockdown, Véran says

Published by My de Sortiraparis · Published on November 9th, 2020 at 10:25 a.m.
It is too early to assess the effectiveness of lockdown, France’s Health Minister Olivier Véran says. Visiting a nursing home in Clamart this Friday morning, the Minister reacted to the release of Jérôme Salomon’s memo to the Defense Council, that judged the lockdown not strict enough to curb the epidemic.

In a memo by Jérôme Salomon presented to the Defense Council – Europe 1 got and that has been passing in very few hands – Jérôme Salomon is assessing the alarming effectiveness of the new lockdown, supposed to stop the new rise in the Covid-19 epidemic. According to the Health Director, the current measures are not enough “to get a reproduction rate of the virus at 0.7 like in April, but rather 0.9”.

As he was visiting a nursing home in Clamart this Friday morning, the Health Minister reacted to the divulgation of the famous memo: “You are alluding to a memo has to do with a work document in which the Health general director is more into describing than analyzing and proposing. I can guarantee of the perfectly compliance with the police led in terms of lockdown”.

He then added: “it is too early to say if the lockdown implemented is fully effective. It needs time between the moment people reduce contacts and the moment the virus withdraws. And if it is necessary to adapt the already-set-up arsenal in our country to fight against this epidemic and lower the health pressure, we will do it”.

Olivier Véran also addressed the issue of a likely study on placing the most vulnerable people in quarantine: “it means that at some point, people no longer have the right to get out and others can circulate, what a funny society, but still. What is the age limit you take? The average age in ICU is 62 years old. 30% are under 60. It means if you take it from 60, you think it is not serious, there are 30% of people under 60 but that will not be confined and then in danger. […] For feasibility and solidarity reasons, this is not a solution we kept and will keep”.

A brief on likely adjustments of the measures will be held next week, BFMTV says, but please note that confining people at risk is not likely to be studied.

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