This is therefore the first step in the gradual lifting of health restrictions. From this Wednesday, February 2, we can find several freedoms, with in particular the end of the compulsory mask outdoors in the city centers of Grenoble, Bourgoin, Voiron and Vienne, where it had to be worn for a month. Telework is no longer an obligation, even if it remains recommended, and then the gauges are lifted in cultural and sports venues. “It’s not irrational“, estimates our guest, Olivier Epaulard, infectiologist at the CHU of Grenoble.
France Bleu Isère: Do these reductions seem reasonable to you in view of the health situation in Isère?
Olivier Epaulard: Yes, on the one hand because we are not touching certain somewhat fundamental restrictions, in particular the mask inside and the vaccination pass. And moreover, because this relief is consistent with the epidemic situation: we actually have a variant which infects a lot of people, but which – thanks to vaccination – makes few people sick. So the virus is circulating, hundreds of thousands of people are infected, but thanks to vaccination, very few are sick and very few end up in hospital. So for the sake of balance between constraints and management of the epidemic, I think it is not irrational to abandon these measures now.
Other restrictions will be lifted in 15 days, including the reopening of nightclubs or the return of standing concerts, it will be February 16. So you don’t fear a rebound in the epidemic?
No given the rebound we have just experienced, given the number of positive tests, I am not sure that a greater rebound is possible. We have already reached so many records, I find it hard to think that because we are going to reopen the discotheques, maybe in two weeks, this could cause the Covid cases to explode. And above all, our compass is not so much the number of positive cases, it is above all the number of people who have serious forms and who are found in hospitals or clinics, since in the Grenoble area as everywhere else , the clinics are also very much involved in the Covid management effort. On this side, we are not on an explosion.
There are still more than 700 people hospitalized for Covid in Isère this morning, or 45 more people in one week. You who work at the CHU, how do you feel about the situation at the hospital?
Well, precisely, we cannot say that there are 700 people hospitalized for Covid. When we say “someone with Covid”, it means that he has the infection with the virus and that he has symptoms. However, there are many people, around a quarter, who are hospitalized for one reason or another, who are positive for the Covid virus, but who do not have the disease. They have non-symptomatic infection of the virus. They will not have any consequences from this infection, in particular because in general, they are double or triple vaccinated… So, we actually have positive people in the hospital. But not everyone has the Covid, they are not sick.
There has indeed been this explosion of positive cases for a month, but fortunately, thanks to vaccination, this explosion did not take place in the hospital. We have to remain vigilant, but if we hadn’t had the vaccination, we would have had 20 times more people hospitalized, which would have been a disaster that I can hardly imagine…
Vaccination is advancing, especially for booster doses. Should we continue the effort?
Yes. What I actually see is that among the people hospitalized for serious forms, there is no triple vaccinated person (apart from people who have impaired immunity, such as transplant recipients, for example). Otherwise the triple vaccinated are very well protected and the double vaccinated are also well protected. So we all have to continue to do our first two injections and then do the booster. And this is true for all ages, not only for older people, but also for children. I can also recall that the Grenoble University Hospital vaccination center continues to welcome people from 5 years old to the oldest every day and without an appointment. So, come, get vaccinated, get your children vaccinated, they will be protected against serious forms that may be linked to the virus and will also participate in controlling the infection.