This Saturday, the first transfer of patients into intensive care was made from Ile-de-France to other regions, while on Monday, Italy is rearranging most of its territories. March 2021 is increasing the attendance of March 2020, which questions the European record: how, one year after the start of the first wave, could Europe have the impression of a class departure? What mistakes did the Old Continent make to achieve this record?

What if the strategy adopted by the European countries to “live with the virus” and try to control its circulation rather than aiming for its elimination led to a bigger problem? Epidemiologist Antoine Flahault indicates that the current situation was part of the risks of this strategy: “In Europe, the government has agreed to live with coronovirus, and therefore has repeatedly accepted redefinition-deconferences. Michaël Rochoy all the more dangerous as a physician and researcher in epidemiology points to a second failure: the absence of quantitative objectives. “Except for 5,000 cases per day fixed for imprisonment – and never achieved elsewhere – France and Europe have left for most of the time without any specific motive, due to which, when applicable measures take place There is a general ambiguity when they arise, etc. Countries have been with the development of epidemic curves, adapting to them rather than constantly trying to lead.

“In France the alert threshold was set to the occurrence of 50, so we created a super alert threshold at 100, then a scarlet super alert at 150 … when we set the exact figures, we don’t keep them or we Let them bend it. Everything is still unclear, “the doctor retreated a bit. There is now the same thing in Germany, where more and more inquiries are made to allow the incident of 35 as it delays .

Remember last summer

The scale of surprise and the first wave, of a still unknown virus, can be thrown to protect Europe. Where the bottom hurts and where there is genuine remorse, it is higher in the summer of 2020, following the general disintegration of the continent with very little circulation of the virus. “I think the original mistake that Europe returned dates until June 2020, when its countries did not adopt a strategy aimed at living without coronovirus, as we Chinese, Koreans or Japanese do after dropping their first wave , ”Antoine Folk said bitter.

Beyond this strategic option, during this period in the face of slow and inevitable growth in cases from July to September, Michel Rochoy regrets it, without taking any new measures. He also recounts the cases of post-July work, at work in July, and after being made compulsory in school shops in October: “If it all started soon after deconfiguration in May, then Viral circulation decreases significantly. , And it took longer to recover. “An example that shows well according to them” is the lack of containment adopted by Europe. As if we were waiting against the wall to try to avoid it ”.

Too much complexity in the air

Explaining the frustration and exhaustion of a section of the population, on the other hand by a lot of unnecessary measures… the lack of measures on one side. Ellis Desbolis, a doctor specializing in public health, laments that he is a bit of an understatement: “We have not done enough for cluster areas and vulnerable people, and are very much in favor. Blind and national imprisonment during the spring when only the Grand Est and Paris were affected, the absence of a distinction between national measures, external and internal… wanting to take equal measures for the entire region and for all populations is zero “. On March 9 A study by the Institute Pasteur suggests that only 5% of contamination, for example, occurs outside.

An analysis, included by Michael Rochoy, is drawing a parallel with the demands of the world of culture at the moment: “We should focus on moments without masks and let everything else happen. The absence of museums, curfews, theaters … to ensure that the sights are well ventilated, that there are masks and a good distance. See loved ones after 6 pm but without removing the mask. The European population will follow this discourse more. “

and now ?

Not to throw everything into the European equations. R (virus reproduction rate) again did not detect heights reached during the first wave (it was estimated above 3 last March in France, and has always been below 2), better monitoring most contaminants. Resuscitation results in fewer deaths on average. Europe continues to suffer, but Europe has learned. And as critical as the strategy of “living with the virus”, the hospital system has never given in – somehow, certainly.

But the last phase of this cross station, the European Union now appears to be paying for its vaccination slowness, due to cold orders months earlier, to get the lowest prices. One option that Antoine Fleuhalt regrets: “The old continent fears its shadow in many aspects of managing this epidemic. Last spring, by not taking the financial and industrial risks that the United States, Russia and China raised their level of development But dared without showing ambition in the fight against the epidemic. “

A play of Europe throughout this year. To be very cautious and very loose when it was necessary to act, but also underestimated oneself. Alice Desabolis concludes: “Coronovirus in Europe has shown the fragility of its population, which is vulnerable amid comorbidity, obesity, aging, and hospital deprivation and budget cuts. It is a global health problem, and only Does not belong to the coronovirus. ”A problem that the Old Continent would have to deal with if it did not wish to experience March 2022 with the air of déjà vu.