For doctors, the National Security Council missed an opportunity by not requiring the wearing of a mask.
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PMore than 450 doctors are sounding the alarm in an open letter published on Friday on the Knack website due to a lack of public support, according to them, for the measures taken to stem the epidemic. They point out that support for the guidelines is essential to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.
Doctors speak of “missed opportunity” when the last National Security Council did not impose the wearing of a mandatory mask. The CNS argued that this measure would have risked not being understood by the population when the “figures” show a “downward trend”.
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“We seem to forget that this downward trend occurred after a period of confinement and after weeks of strict compliance with the rules,” write the doctors.
Wearing a mask is simple, they say. “I protect you, you protect me. With a mask, we protect each other. In addition, it is a cheap measure without the harmful effects of containment. “
The argument of opponents to the widespread use of masks that it would be harmful to health is, according to these doctors, “a blatant lie”. “Naturally, mouth masks make sense, otherwise we wouldn’t need them so massively in hospitals. “
« Un moment crucial »
But the concern of doctors extends beyond the masks. “We find that the downward trend in the numbers gives the impression that the coronavirus ‘is gone’. In recent weeks, further easing has been chained at an accelerated rate, while the measures are less and less respected (…) Collective attention threatens to relax and, this, at a crucial moment ”, estimate the healthcare providers. “The virus’s reproduction number (which indicates how many individuals an infected person infects, NLDR) is approaching 1. If it exceeds the number 1, the pandemic will resume. “
“We understand that politics is a balancing act, taking into account public health, the economy, our human and social needs, our psychological well-being and many other variables. But with the multitude of rules, exceptions, flexibilities, debates on the interests which must prevail and especially the many often contradictory councils, no adhesion was created but only confusion and frustration. “
“There is too little emphasis on the fact that compliance with the rules will allow us to return to normal life more quickly, with less risk of a second wave,” conclude the doctors.
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