France: Growing Concerns for the Elderly in the Coronavirus Crisis
The situation in French centres for the elderly is deteriorating more and more during the corona crisis. Until Tuesday, 3,200 people had died of an infection in the nursing and older people's homes.
That is almost a third of all deceased victims in France.
The head of the public hospitals association has sent a letter of fire to Minister of Health Olivier Véran. The institutions are in "an absolute emergency", writes Frédéric Valletoux.
"The risk is growing that older people die without the necessary nursing."
More staff for the institutions needs to be created quickly. "It is still possible to prevent the worst," said Valletoux.
But in France, there is an increasing shortage of nursing staff. Demand is growing, and more and more nurses are dropping out due to illness.