The bronchiolitis epidemic is still responsible for thousands of contaminations and hospitalizations of young children. To limit the number of new cases and relieve hospitals, a Breton pediatrician suggests closing schools.
The bronchiolitis epidemic is not abating. Emergency services have seen more than 8,500 children under the age of two with the virus in a week, according to the latest report from Public Health France published on December 7, 2022. Almost 3,000 of these young patients have been hospitalized. The figures are impressive and even if according to the health authority the situation seems to be stabilizing, the epidemic indicators remain very high. Sign that the virus continues to spread at high speed in almost all regions of metropolitan France. In Brittany, Véronique Despert, head of the pediatric department at the Rennes University Hospital, is sounding the alarm and deems it necessary that greater measures be taken to stem the epidemic. Among the potential solutions, the health professional even mentions the temporary closure of schools in the columns of the Telegram.
The epidemic situation is “hyperserious” according to the pediatrician who believes that to prevent the situation from getting worse “we must play on the flow of entries, that is to say the epidemic circulation”. However, schools favor contamination between children. “Children catch the virus at school and pass it on to their little brother or sister,” insists Véronique Despert. His opinion is therefore categorical: “We must think about closing schools now. […] We must also stop family reunions. From a scientific point of view, there is no other way”. The two injunctions, however, seem difficult to imagine a few days before holidays and end-of-year celebrations.
Closing schools is also a drastic measure that the government cannot take lightly. The end of classes had already posed a problem during the health crisis in Covid-19 or containment. And the recent announcements by the Minister of National Education Pap Ndiaye on the closure of schools for half a day in the event of a cut have aroused the anger and concerns of parents and education unions. Still, the situation is very critical in hospitals which are facing a triple epidemic with too many cases of bronchiolitis and the flu, which is also stronger this year, in addition to the ninth wave of Covid-19.