“Let’s take advantage of the calm”launches Monday, March 14 on franceinfo, Jimmy Mohamed, doctor at SOS Doctors and consultant for franceinfo, while today the wearing of masks and the vaccination pass are suspended in the majority of places where they were applied. “It had to stop”says this general practitioner.
franceinfo: Is it reasonable to remove the mask when contamination is on the rise again?
Jimmy Mohammad: It had to stop. Until now, the variants were more and more contagious, more and more virulent. With Omicron, we have a variant that is more contagious, but less virulent, so there are fewer patients in the hospital. We can say to ourselves that this may be the moment, with the idea in mind that if in a few months a new variant emerges, perhaps additional measures will have to be taken. So, let’s take advantage of the lull, we shouldn’t be too stressed about the number of contaminations either, it could go up. We have already climbed very high.
Will this rebound be bearable by the hospital?
It was supported when we suffered almost 500,000 cases a day. So we can say that the hospital should hold. But again with collateral damage, that is to say patients who will be hospitalized, some who will die. We may still be deprogramming certain operations. So, be careful, the end of the mask does not mean the end of the epidemic and the obligation that is suspended does not mean a mask ban. Personally, when I go shopping, I will keep my mask on since I still don’t want to get sick, to catch the coronavirus. I remind you that this is a week of sick leave where you will lose a little money and be sick and also perhaps contaminate fragile people.
Who do you recommend keeping the mask on?
If ever you are fragile, that is to say immunocompromised, then we know that vaccination works a little less well. In these cases, you must keep your mask on. If you are over 70, I again recommend that you wear a mask since the Covid epidemic will still make you go to the hospital.
Do we keep the mask on during a two-hour meeting?
This is going to depend on your individual risk. If you ever feel that you are young, in good health and that you are ready to accept getting sick, in these cases, do not wear your mask. If you ever say ‘no, but there, I really don’t want to be sick, I had a long Covid’, keep your mask on, in any case ventilate the room. This limits contamination.
At university, in crowded lecture halls, do we keep the mask on?
A priori we no longer keep it, but we risk falling ill. And then right now, I’m seeing a lot of flu epidemics. People have 39, 40 degrees of temperature. So the mask protects you from the coronavirus, but also from all viral infections.
Is school now our weak point against the virus?
It always has been. We know this very well, as soon as the schools were opened we saw an epidemic resumption, as soon as the schools closed we saw an epidemic which calmed down a little. The mask was our strongest barrier gesture. We will no longer be able to tell people ‘Wash your hands, put some distance’. No, that, we’re going to live like before. In people’s imagination, when this mask is dropped, it means that there is no longer an epidemic. I think this is a wrong message. I think there are still some precautionary measures to keep.
Do we shake hands or not?
We shake hands, we wash our hands. Nevertheless, by shaking hands, you can catch gastroenteritis but you will not catch the coronavirus like that. It is a kiss. La bise is no more dangerous than staying face to face when eating without a mask. So kiss yes. Indeed, we will have ayatollahs who will say to continue to keep their distance, but that is hypocritical.