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Slowing the Covid-19 epidemic outbreak without bringing the country to a halt: this is the puzzle facing the government, when the threshold of 100,000 daily cases has been crossed. The number of work stoppages has already multiplied by seven in less than two months, and millions of French people could find themselves at home.
This baker’s boss works seven days a week and no longer counts his hours. Five of its employees are absent, including three on sick leave linked to Covid-19. “It’s 24 hours, and with the holidays on top of that, you have to work”, says Sébastien Hayertz, who then puts on 14 hours of work. His wife also has to work more, she replaces the absent saleswoman, instead of being on leave with their children.
The explosion of the epidemic is synonymous with a massive increase in the number of work stoppages. In this personal assistance agency, a third of the workers are on sick leave. So to replace the absent, the director must find other professionals available, and replace non-essential services to deal with the emergency. The virus also has consequences on public transport near Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme), where nearly 20% of drivers are currently stopped.