Corona time bomb. Refugees in France inside "epidemic halls"

 

Hundreds of families lined up inside a basketball court, to paint the scene of the "temporary camps" set up by the French refugee authorities in Paris, in a situation threatening public health with the spread of the coronavirus in the country.

Nurse teams visit indoor sports fields and hotels, as the authorities sheltered about 700 immigrants who were living as of March 24 in a camp in Aubervilliers.

Anilis Curie, coordinator of the Covid-19 project in Paris and its environs, with MSF, says gyms are not the "best solution".

"It is unfortunate, but gyms are not the best solution. Sports facilities are inherently open spaces without barriers. It is often not possible to isolate people suspected of having coronavirus who should be living in rooms. Unilaterally to enable social spacing." Curie told Sky News Arabia.

"This is what MSF and several other organizations require from the authorities. In addition to providing medical care in the nine shelters visited by our mobile teams, we want to protect their residents and their crews. Therefore we are trying to implement basic hygiene measures to ensure that the shelters do not become new outbreaks of mass." 

Among the most prominent problems facing the organization in "temporary camps", the large numbers of people who suffer from health problems, are not necessarily linked to the disease "Covid-19", because the health centers that they used to go to are now closed.

"Some of them have dental problems, others have skin disorders, small cuts or ulcers that need treatment, as they may cause actual problems for those who do not have a roof that keeps them and does not have basic hygiene facilities. Also, scabies is also a problem, especially in shelters," Curie says. Common as it can spread very quickly. "

"We work with two systems to reach vulnerable groups in Paris and the suburbs. For five days a week we install a mobile clinic near food distribution sites and a nurse and a doctor provide medical consultations to people who live on the streets," Curie notes.

Psychological problems

As health care services are also required, MSF brought in a psychologist who joined the team this week, as outbreaks and quarantines can add to the anxiety of many people who have experienced massive trauma during their long journeys from their home countries.

Curie said, "To make matters worse, many legal transactions such as asylum requests and appeals have been suspended. Therefore, it is not difficult to understand the negative psychological effects of this situation. Moreover, some migrants and people who live on the street no longer have any income".

She added: "All of these factors contribute to the weakening of people who are weak before. Stone and the absence of medical care will undoubtedly affect the physical and psychological health of people who have no place to harbor them."

Hurdles

There are several problems the organization faces to contain the crisis of the virus while working with refugees, said Emily Fourier, coordinator of medical activities for "Covid-19" in France with "Doctors Without Borders".

"We have encountered several obstacles, one of which is a problem that restricts us more than others, and all health workers face it, which is to secure supplies of personal protective equipment from health authorities," Fourier told Sky News Arabia.

She added: "Another problem that we have to face is the lack of adequate facilities that we can refer people at risk of infection more than others (depending on their age or because they have medical problems such as chronic diseases, obesity, or high blood pressure)."

"We believe that people at risk of contracting the disease should be referred to appropriate centers where they can get the care they need to protect them from coronavirus infection." Fourier said.

Lack of equality

Fourier pointed out that the "Covid-19" outbreak revealed the weakness of the health system and the ability to respond to such a large health emergency, and it also highlighted the unequal access to medical care that is not available to the most vulnerable groups.

"So we decided to focus our medical care on people who live in the streets, the migrants, the homeless and the unaccompanied minors, whose application requests to the courts to recognize them as minors were disrupted," she said.

She added: "By April 8, we had provided 376 medical examinations and identified 110 suspected cases of Covid-19 disease. It was found that 24 people out of 36 had been infected. We are awaiting 4 other results."

A big challenge

According to MSF workers, the Covid-19 pandemic represents an unprecedented health crisis that brings with it unprecedented problems and challenges, one of which is tests, as well as the immediate evacuation of suspected cases of collective shelters and referring them to facilities capable of applying appropriate isolation measures.

As in all French clinics, controlling the epidemic will be a real challenge for the organization, and the French authorities may pay a heavy price for "sports halls camps".

As of Friday, April 10, France has recorded more than 117,000 cases, and it is one of the 5 countries in the world that have recorded more than 100,000 cases of the virus, and there are more than 12,000 deaths due to the virus.