With President Emmanuel Macron asserting that the situation regarding the hantavirus is “under control” and the government stating that it has “no indication” of “widespread circulation” of the virus in France, the country’s health authorities are on alert and geared towards taking strict precautionary measures so as to avoid any possibility of the virus spreading. The French President said from Africa, where he is on an official visit, that there was no cause for particular concern as the government had implemented “extremely strict protocols” in consultation with “the best experts”.
The French government “has “no indication” of “widespread circulation” of the virus in France, Health Minister Stephanie Rist said yesterday, Tuesday, during a press conference, while announcing that she would meet members of the National Assembly’s Social Affairs Committee today and then contact other European health ministers. Of the five French citizens repatriated from the MV Hondius cruise ship, “at this stage, four are in good health and the relevant tests have come back negative,” the French minister said, but she went on to say that “one patient who tested positive for the virus is in a critical condition in an intensive care unit in Paris.”
On the issue of monitoring people who have come into contact with carriers of the virus, the minister said that a total of 22 cases of contact have been identified in France. “All have been contacted, examined, treated or hospitalised and are under strict health monitoring,” the Health Minister continued. She also noted that eight French citizens, who flew from St Helena to Johannesburg on April 25 with the sick Dutch passenger, who died shortly afterwards, have been “identified, examined and are currently being treated”, specifying that “they are of various ages, including children”.
