e wave of Covid-19 comes on top of the current epidemics of influenza and bronchiolitis. JEFF PACHOUD/AFP
SURVEY – The French say they are worried about the overall health situation in the country, according to an Odoxa / Backbone Consulting survey for Le Figaro.
2022 is coming to an end, and the Covid-19 crisis is still not behind us. And facing a 9e wave that comes on top of the current epidemics of influenza and bronchiolitis, 61% of French people say they are worried about the overall health situation in the country, according to an Odoxa/Backbone Consulting survey for Le Figaro. 66% of respondents are particularly worried “for their loved ones” and half of them plan to be careful during the end-of-year celebrations, respecting barrier gestures and avoiding contacts and crowds as much as possible.
If certain barrier gestures constantly repeated at the height of the crisis are now part of the daily life of the French, such as washing their hands very regularly or using hydroalcoholic gel, the people surveyed concede: they are gradually abandoning the most restrictive measures. . For example, less than half (46%) of respondents still systematically wear a mask on public transport. And yet, 76% want it to become mandatory again. 58% of those questioned even call for the restoration of the wearing of compulsory masks in all public places. In addition, 77% of them think that telework should be extended in order to limit travel and thus reduce the risk of spreading the virus.
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Coercion is not on the agenda and the government prefers to play the card of education and accountability; however the Minister of Health, François Braun, recently assured on the set of BFMTV that if all the indicators (growth of the epidemic, saturation of hospitals, etc.) turn red and that it is necessary to go as far as the obligation , his “arm shall not shake”.
No more worries for the hospital
“I make a solemn appeal: let us respect barrier gestures, wear the mask as soon as we are with fragile people or in crowded areas such as public transport. It’s the little things that save lives.”declared Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne at the end of November, recalling that “the virus has not disappeared, the epidemic still strikes, kills again”.
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A positive point – although hardly surprising – of the Odoxa survey, the French believe the country is better equipped than two years ago to deal with Covid, concerning for example the number of masks or tests available, or the government’s ability to act and communicate quickly on the subject. “On the other hand, if the French had noted a “better” in the hospital a few months after the start of the epidemic, the judgments have since collapsed!, notes Céline Bracq, CEO of Odoxa. Thus, 50% of French people believe that health establishments are better prepared to manage the arrival of covid patients”, i.e. 10 points less than in a survey carried out in September 2020. And only 36% of them think that the country is ready in terms of the number of resuscitation beds available for patients.s.