France’s lockdown is to be extended, to nobody’s surprise.
The president is to tell us how long we must remain in our homes on Monday when he will make his third televised address since the start of the crisis.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo has sent a letter outlining proposals on how to handle a phased end of lockdown to Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.
At more than 20,000 inhabitants per km², Paris is the most densely populated city outside Asia. Many residents live in small flats and Madame la Maire is especially worried about people who can’t effectively self-isolate from the people they live with if they become infected.
She calls for widespread targeted testing and certificate of immunity for people who have recovered, so that they can be exempted from some lockdown requirements. I hope people are thinking this through, since I believe it is not yet clear how long immunity can last.
Hidalgo, who would clearly like to be France’s first female president, joins a number of politicians who have called for an inquiry into the government’s handling of the epidemic and is critical of the lack of protective material.
The scandalous mask shortage surely has lessons for all. Not only because of the cost-cutting mentality that meant that stocks built up after previous epidemics were run down but also because of the global division of labour that means Europe and the US are fighting on the tarmac to buy masks and other supplies from China when they could have been produced here.
Globalisation has not only devastated the environment and helped spread the virus, it has also made the world economy dependent on supply lines that are fatally disrupted by this kind of crisis. And it seems there will be more such crises.
Plasma may save lives. Since Tuesday French medics have been running a clinical trial to see if transfusions of blood from cured patients can save severely ill patients.
Blood has been taken from 200 people who have recovered and is being given to 30 of the group of 60 patients, Le Monde reports. The other 30 are being given a placebo, which of course is standard practice.
The first results won’t be available for two to three weeks, unfortunately.
Similar tests are taking place in the US, where the doctor in charge says that each donation of blood could save three or four lives.
France’s Covid-19 death toll now officially stands at 10,869 but this is an underestimate because a “technical problem” has prevented the number of deaths in care homes being updated today. There are 82,048 confirmed cases (also an underestimate because of the lack of testing) 30,375 people hospitalised, up 348 in 24 hours, and 7,148 in intensive care, an increase of only 17. 21,254 people have been discharged from hospital.
