This is the case in Nice, Cannes, Draguignan and Menton to deal with the current flu epidemic. Most health establishments distribute masks at the entrance for patients who are not informed of the return of this object symbolizing Covid-19.
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It’s the return of a gesture that we had somewhat left aside. In recent days, a large number of hospitals in the Riviera and Var have decided to reimpose the wearing of surgical masks in their buildings, like many other medical centers nationwide.
Behind this legacy of the Covid period, the objective is clear: to try to deal with the circulation of influenza described as “intense“this winter by the Ministry of Health, which called on Tuesday January 14 to”great vigilance” pour “protect the most vulnerable“.
Seasonal flu circulates intensively in the territory.
Ministry of Healthin a press release, January 14, 2025
The Nice University Hospital, the Dracénie hospital center, the Fontonne hospital in Antibes… Little by little, the simple recommendation to wear a mask is turning into an obligation.
The Bonnet hospital in Fréjus tells us that in the absence of a strict rule, masks are very rare on patients’ faces, despite the current virulence of the flu epidemic.
It’s part of the barrier gestures, hygiene recommendations.
Bonnet Hospital of Fréjusat France 3 Côte d’Azur
However, at the entrance to hospitals, the information seems not to have reached the ears of patients, the vast majority of whom discover, sometimes with astonishment, that they must be masked to enter.
If you find yourself in this situation, many hospital sites distribute masks at the entrance, such as in Antibes, at the Nice University Hospital or in Draguignan. But be careful, this is not necessarily the case everywhere, nor every day, as an Internet user points out under the Cannes hospital’s Facebook post: “yesterday, no distribution at the entrance“.
At the Fontonne hospital in Antibes, we assure that “everything necessary has been done in terms of communication, it is posted everywhere“, calling wearing a mask “common sense measure to avoid contagions“.
We will never refuse entry to a visitor without a mask. Care comes first.
Management of the Fontonne hospital in Antibesat France 3 Côte d’Azur
Same message from Draguignan, who specifies that the measure is “obviously” temporary.
However, this winter, it appears to be more educational than anything else. “We are not behind every person who does not have it, it’s not like for Covid“, says the Dracénie Hospital Center. “But, when we see someone in a hallway who is not wearing it, we tell them.“
This object, which has become in the minds of many French people the symbol of the Covid-19 pandemic, gradually seems to be establishing itself as an essential in the face of winter illnesses. In hospitals, there is no doubt that it could be required during each new wave of flu, or another virus.
