Illustration of a closure panel due to the coronavirus epidemic, here in Haute-Savoie. – Allili Mourad / SIPA
- Since the appearance of a coronavirus case at La Balme-de Sillingy, in Haute-Savoie, 21 new infections have been diagnosed.
- The town is one of the three clusters identified in France.
- Several measures have been taken for the population to limit the spread of the virus.
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For a week, the peaceful town of La Balme-de-Sillingy finds itself in spite of itself on the front page of the news. This city of 5,000 inhabitants is indeed one of the three clusters of coronavirus currently listed in France (the other two are in Oise and Morbihan), that is to say an area of grouped cases. Since the first case appeared at La Balme on February 24, new infections have followed one another. The latest report published on Tuesday by
the regional health agency reports 22 cases of
coronavirus confirmed and linked to this cluster in Haute-Savoie.
To avoid new cases, several measures have been put in place by the mayor, who himself has not escaped the virus, and the authorities. 20 minutes takes stock of the situation.
Looking for contact cases
On February 24, a sixty-year-old resident of the town on a regular business trip to Lombardy (Italy) called on 15. Tests carried out on him confirmed that he was infected. From then on, the services of the regional health agency started looking for contact cases, that is to say all the people who were in contact with this first case. The latter provided a list of some 60 people in advance who he had been in close contact with recently, which quickly identified three other confirmed cases of coronavirus. His partner, daughter and one of his good friends.
Since then, the patient list has grown. “More than 20 Balmeans are hospitalized, three of whom are worried. Many others are confined to their homes, ”reported on Monday evening on the site of the town mayor François Daviet. For each new patient identified, the ARS searches for contact cases. Ant work essential to limit the spread of the virus. “The objective of the ARS is to list all the people in contact with these patients, to know where they live and how to take care of them if they are also contaminated,” said the prefect of Haute-Savoie Pierre Lambert on Monday. , during a press point.
The commune is not confined
No measures have been taken to confine the population to La Balme, as is the case today in several cities in Italy, where the virus is circulating massively. “But the population is invited as much as they can to preferentially stay in the commune,” added the prefect. Clearly, it is advisable to favor teleworking to avoid having to travel. In the same way, it is recommended to nursery assistants not to welcome children from outside the municipality or not to have their toddlers babysitting with nannies living outside La Balme.
No obligation either for shops, free to close shop or stay open. “But of course anything that can be compared to a rally is prohibited (you can do your shopping but not chat in a crowd in front of the stores)”, explains the mayor of La Balme, recalling that rallies are prohibited in the town.
“We are not asking people not to leave their homes, but not to leave the commune, as far as possible, which is a little different. There are 19 patients for a population of 5,000 inhabitants. I would find it damaging to local life that everything stops on the grounds that there are 19 people in care, “however, nuanced on Monday the prefect of Haute-Savoie, asked about the concerns of shops in the city, deserted since the appearance of the cluster.
Schools and nurseries closed
Child-friendly establishments (leisure centers, crèches, day-care centers) are closed until further notice. This measure should be extended by Monday, since schoolchildren are expected to resume class that day in Haute-Savoie. Schoolchildren and high school students from La Balme will also not be able to re-enter establishments located outside the municipality.
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