Sobriety and hygiene. For the start of 2025, we kiss each other from afar and we keep our masks on. Winter illnesses are at their peak. “Influenza A, coronavirus, gastroenteritis,” testifies this health professional from Belfort. At the GP, a cluttered office and a telephone that never stops ringing. At the pharmacist, queues during the day and many patients at night, like Sunday from 8 p.m., in the center of Belfort. Conversely, many appointments canceled or not honored with health professionals such as the physiotherapist.
Work stoppages, activity stoppages
At the CPAM, we confirm “a more massive arrival of work stoppages”. But “it is too early to make an analysis and a comparison with the months of December or January 2024”.
These viral outbreaks and work stoppages have consequences on daily life: thus, in this restaurant in Belfort, one of the only ones open late in the evening, half of the team is on the sidelines. “Our colleagues have the flu,” summarize the waiters who escaped the epidemic.
Winter classics
“We encounter the classic infectious diseases of winter, favored by wet and cold weather,” testifies this experienced general practitioner. The most common winter viruses are influenza, gastroenteritis, bronchiolitis and nasopharyngitis. “Covid is still circulating, but in attenuated forms,” continues the doctor.
January is also traditionally a difficult month for families, marked by numerous deaths. “Fragility is the breeding ground for viruses and infectious pathologies,” confirms the practitioner. Protecting those we love means refraining from kissing them when in doubt.
Caution is therefore required. Gestures that had become systematic during the Covid epidemic, to be urgently readopted: wearing a mask and frequent hand washing, ventilation of enclosed environments, homes and offices.
Prevention is better than cure!
The Regional Health Agency calls for caution
“The region is strongly affected by the influenza epidemic and acute respiratory infections which are creating significant and continuing tensions on the health system. Particularly grateful for the commitment of caregivers who work on a daily basis for patients, the ARS Bourgogne-Franche-Comté is counting on collective mobilization.” The press release arrived this Wednesday morning from regional services in Dijon. The Regional Health Agency mentions “a fourth week of flu epidemic with very strong viral dynamics observed by Public Health France, in community medicine, as well as in terms of regulation and visits to emergency rooms”.
Practical recommendation from the ARS: make wearing a mask compulsory on sites, strengthen hygiene and prevention measures. “The Regional Health Agency therefore recommends wearing a mask, obviously in the event of symptoms, but also for example in situations of promiscuity and reminds that other simple barrier gestures can be enough to protect lives. »
France
