The new coronavirus that causes Covid-19 disease is very contagious. Which explains the speed with which it has spread around the world. However, there are measures to protect against it and thus control the spread of the epidemic.

Coronaviruses are a family of viruses that can be pathogenic to humans and animals. In humans, several coronaviruses can cause more or less serious respiratory infections. It ranges from the common cold to more serious conditions like Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).

On January 9, 2020, a new coronavirus was discovered in China, in the city of Wuhan. This is SARS-Cov2, responsible for the 2019 coronavirus disease (Covid-19). The first man to contract Covid-19 would have been infected with an animal because SARS-Cov2 is similar to a virus already identified in a bat. The animal responsible for transmission to humans has not been confirmed. However, several studies mention the pangolin as an intermediate host between bats and humans, a small mammal eaten in southern China. This is the theory retained by scientists.

Coronavirus symptoms manifested by:

• fever ;
• a cough and sore throat;
• difficulty breathing;
• headaches ;
• fatigue.

Less frequent symptoms may appear, such as:

• diarrhea ;
• conjunctivitis;
• loss of taste and smell;
• a rash (frostbite); 
• body aches.

It is transmitted from person to person by the projection of contaminated droplets (saliva, nasal secretions) when the person coughs or sneezes, and by a prolonged face to face (at least 15 minutes) with a person located within a meter from you. The Institut Pasteur recalls that “in the absence of control and prevention measures, each patient infects between 2 and 3 people”.

The received ideas concerning the means of transmission are still numerous. It is therefore important to remember that Covid-19 is not transmitted through Chinese food, parcels from China, currency or even mosquitoes.

The droplets of saliva could stagnate in the air. Scientists wonder for how long and with what level of contagiousness. This was the subject of an American study. Researchers made a person speak in a closed box. Thanks to a laser, the micro droplets were detected. They are invisible to the naked eye; they measure between 0,004 and 0,02 mm in diameter. Even though the bigger ones fell, the smaller ones hung around for 12 minutes. In enclosed or poorly ventilated places, a kind of cloud composed of micro-droplets, containing charges virals de la Covid-19, could stagnate for about 10 minutes. It is therefore necessary to ensure that the rooms, shops, offices or all closed places are well ventilated, by opening the window or using air conditioning. For closed places that cannot be ventilated, such as elevators, wearing a mask becomes essential. 

Moreover, today, regular ventilation of the premises is part of the strict sanitary protocol. Schools must be ventilated for 5 minutes every hour while the doctor must ventilate between each patient. 

In the absence of control and protection measures, the risk of contamination of the coronavirus from one person to another is significant.

It is possible to reduce this risk through simple actions:

• wash your hands very regularly with soap and water or a hydroalcoholic solution. Washing kills the virus if it is on your hands.
• cough or sneeze into their elbow or into a disposable tissue.
• only use disposable tissues that you throw in the trash after use.
• stop shaking hands and kissing to greet others.
• do not put your hands in your mouth, nose or eyes. If the virus is on your hands, it can enter your body through these openings.
• stand more than one meter away from a person who is coughing or sneezing. If you stand within a meter of it, you can inhale the droplets containing the virus (if the person is a carrier).
• stay at home in the presence of characteristic symptoms of Covid-19.
• find out about areas where the virus is actively circulating and avoid going there.
• wear a mask as soon as you leave the house. 

If someone you know is infected, avoid being around them during their quarantine period. If you have been in contact with it, stay confined to your home for 7 days as well as the people with whom you yourself have been in contact.

Find the barrier gestures communicated by the government:

If you think you may be infected with Covid-19 (feeling of fever, cough, headache), call your doctor to guide you in the procedure to follow. Above all, do not go directly to your doctor or to the emergency room of a hospital, at the risk of infecting other people and clogging health establishments. In the same way, do not call the SAMU, on 15, if you do not feel any difficulty in breathing or shortness of breath so as not to clog the line. Potentially infected people can be invited to go to one of the 138 establishments authorized for the treatment of Covid-19 in order to carry out a screening test.

Infected people with mild symptoms, similar to a cold or flu-like condition, are sent home and asked to stay confined for 7 days. Isolation consists of limiting one’s movements, with the exception of medical appointments. If they travel, patients must wear a mask and notify the nursing staff of their arrival. At home, the patient (s) must wear masks if the other occupants are not contaminated and daily washing of frequently touched surfaces is to be expected.

Isolation is also recommended for people who have been in contact with a confirmed Covid-19 patient but not showing any symptoms. If this is your case:

• monitor your temperature twice a day.
• watch for symptoms of respiratory infection (cough, difficulty breathing).
• avoid all contact with vulnerable people (elderly, chronically ill, pregnant women).
• avoid places where there are fragile people.
• avoid any non-essential outing (concert, event, cinema, restaurant, etc.).

The incubation period is 3 to 5 days but it can go up to 14 days with a greater risk of contamination from the onset of the first symptoms. Namely that an infected person can be asymptomatic.

If your symptoms worsen, call back on 15 who will arrange for hospitalization, depending on the situation.

The most severely ill patients may suffer from acute respiratory distress syndrome, acute renal failure, or multi-organ failure which can lead to death. These disorders fortunately concern a minority of coronavirus cases and most often occur in elderly people or people suffering from other chronic diseases (respiratory, cardiovascular, diabetes, etc.). These people must be hospitalized in intensive care or intensive care.

To date, there is no treatment to treat this type of coronavirus infection. Treatment consists of relieving the symptoms. However, there is a lot of research going on globally. On the other hand, there are vaccines. 

Update of December 3 – Containment is lightened, the new exit certificate is available.

Containment continues until December 15. However, from tomorrow, November 28, it will be allowed to travel within a radius of 20 km around your home, for a period of three hours. The businesses will resume their activities until 21 p.m., including Sundays, in accordance with a strict protocol. (one person for 8 m², wearing a mask, hydro-alcoholic gel available, etc.). Booksellers and record stores will also be able to reopen. Religious ceremonies may resume, up to a limit of 30 people.

From October 30, the French are again confined for a period of four weeks (until December 1). Faced with the deteriorating health situation in France (and in Europe), the government decides to take a radical measure: a second confinement in France. Indeed, the previous restrictions have not made it possible to curb the Covid-19 epidemic. Nearly 1 cases are confirmed in France and 300 deaths are to be deplored. In addition, hospital capacity is under strain in certain areas: patients with the virus occupy 000% of intensive care beds. In addition, we can expect a higher peak in hospitalizations than in April, during the month of November, according to Prime Minister Jean Castex. The exceptional travel certificate is therefore back. Each citizen must bring it in digital format (Tous AntiCovid application) or by downloading it, before each outing. The reasons remain essentially the same as during the first confinement. The big change, on the other hand, is that nurseries and schools, from kindergarten to high school, remain open and that certain sectors continue their activity (factories, farms, construction and public service). In addition, wearing a mask is now compulsory from the age of six in primary schools and remains compulsory from the age of eleven elsewhere.

The curfew begins at 19 p.m. In addition, since April 3, the reinforced restrictions extend to the entire metropolitan territory, for a period of four weeks. Travel beyond 10 km is prohibited (except for compelling or professional reasons).

A nationwide curfew came into effect on December 15 in mainland France from 20 p.m. to 6 a.m. A new exceptional travel certificate must be completed to go out during the curfew, except for December 24. 

As of November 27, the curfew is no longer in effect. However, it will be implemented a second time from December 15, replacing the current containment measures. From 21 p.m. to 7 a.m., it will be impossible to move, except on December 24 and 31.

Update October 23: The 21 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew now extends to 46 million inhabitants in 54 departments of France and in French Polynesia: Loire, Rhône, Nord, Paris, Isère, Hauts-de-Seine, Val-d’Oise, Val-de-Marne, Seine-Saint-Denis, Essonne, Bouches-du-Rhône, Haute-Garonne , Yvelines, Hérault, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-Maritime, Haute-Loire, Ain, Savoie, Ardèche, Saône-et-Loire, Aveyron, Ariège, Tarn-et-Garonne, Tarn, Pyrénées-Orientales, Gard, Vaucluse , Puy-de-Dôme, Hautes-Alpes, Pas-de-Calais, Drôme, Oise, Haute-Savoie, Jura, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Haute-Corse, Calvados, Hautes-Pyrénées, Corse-du-Sud, Lozère, Haute -Vienne, Côte-d’Or, Ardennes, Var, Indre-et-Loire, Aube, Loiret, Maine-et-Loire, Bas-Rhin, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Marne, Alpes-Maritimes, Ille-et-Vilaine . However, exemptions are possible during the curfew, provided you have the exceptional travel certificate, downloadable in digital or paper format, in the following cases: 

• professional reason: professional activity in the evening or at night;
• health reason: medical consultation or purchase of medicines;
• compelling family reason: assistance to vulnerable people, childcare, court summons;
• short trips to take out their pet within a radius of one kilometer around their home;
• trips linked to transits for long-distance trips.

To curb the spread of the new coronavirus in France, the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, announced new restrictive measures on October 14. These restrictions will be applied from this Saturday, October 17:

• a curfew from 21 p.m. to 00 a.m., for a minimum of 6 weeks. This measure can be extended until December 00. It concerns Ile-de-France, Lille, Grenoble, Saint-Etienne, Rouen, Toulouse, Montpellier and Aix-Marseille. People who work at night or who have a health emergency may be exempted, thanks to proof. Controls will be strengthened. The government provides for a fine of € 4 and € 1 in the event of a repeat offense;
• recommendation to wear a mask in the family setting and to limit home gatherings to 6 people;
• 2 to 3 days of teleworking are recommended, for sectors in which it is relevant.

On October 22, the new All Anti-Covid application will be presented, which will replace the current StopCovid. It aims to inform the population, using very simple instructions for use, of the health recommendations according to the place in which it is located. It will also make it possible to identify new foci of the epidemic. In addition, a new screening strategy will be implemented, by means of “self-tests” and antigenic tests, to obtain results very quickly.

These new measures are in addition to those already in force, such as reducing the capacity for students to 50% in universities or banning gatherings of more than 10 people in certain territories.

Update August 31, 2020 – French citizens can now move freely. You have to stay benevolent and avoid going to areas where the virus is actively circulating. Wearing a mask is compulsory in closed public places, such as restaurants, the cinema, shops or public transport. It is also in the streets of certain cities of France. This is the case of Paris, the capital in which children are forced to wear a mask from the age of 11. Cyclists or people riding a scooter are not required to wear a protective mask. The cities of Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Nice or Lyon have decided to impose the wearing of masks also outdoors, to deal with Covid-19. Other cities have chosen to impose it only in certain neighborhoods or busy streets, such as Lille, Nantes or even Dijon. 

Wearing a mask had already become widespread in other European countries. In Italy, a country heavily impacted by the coronavirus, the mask is mandatory in shops, restaurants, public transport, supermarkets, etc. In some areas of Italy, the mask is also imposed on the streets.

Updated March 25, 2020 – Following President Emmanuel Macron’s announcement on Monday March 16 at 20 p.m., travel is now prohibited except for the following cases and to be provided with the exceptional travel certificate. The reasons for travel are: 

• Travel between home and the place of exercise of professional activity, when they are essential for the exercise of activities that cannot be organized in the form of telework or professional trips that cannot be postponed.
• Travel to purchase supplies necessary for professional activity and purchases of basic necessities [1] in establishments whose activities remain authorized.
• Consultations and care that cannot be provided remotely and cannot be postponed; care of patients with long-term illness.
• Travel for compelling family reasons, for assistance to vulnerable people or childcare.
• Brief trips, within the limit of one hour per day and within a maximum radius of one kilometer around the home, linked either to the individual physical activity of people, to the exclusion of any collective sporting practice and any proximity to other people, either for a walk with only people grouped together in the same home, or for the needs of pets.
• Judicial or administrative summons.
• Participation in missions of general interest at the request of the administrative authority.