This country allows Covid positive healthcare workers to keep working
PremiumThe hospital authorities said the new flexibility from self-isolation would help them plug staffing holes if and when they open up
France is allowing health care workers, who are infected with the coronavirus to keep treating patients to prevent staff shortage at hospitals and other facilities amid the unprecedented rise in Covid-19 cases. However, the French government has only permitted those doctors who have few or no symptoms of coronavirus.
The special exemption to France's quarantine rules being rolled out to hospitals, elderly care homes, doctors' offices, and other essential health services highlights the growing strain on the French medical system by the fast-spreading omicron variant.
French hospital authorities said the new flexibility from self-isolation would help them plug staffing holes if and when they open up. “If the system becomes very strained and 50% of our staff are positive, the less symptomatic will come to work because the patients will still need to be cared for," said Dr. Marc Leone, head of anesthesiology at the North Hospital in the southern city of Marseille to Associated Press.
The Health Ministry instructions say that, where possible, the infected workers shouldn't be in contact with unvaccinated patients or those at greater risk of severe illness with Covid-19.
The ministry said they also must limit as much as possible their interactions with colleagues and cannot take part in shared activities where face masks are removed, such as breaks for food and drinks.
As per France's latest Covid guidelines, fully vaccinated Covid-infected patients have to self isolate for at least five-day. While, for the unvaccinated, the self-isolation is till seven-day.
Quarantines have been shortened in France in order to get the workers back to their posts. Governments and industries have warned that isolation rules are creating staff shortages across a range of sectors as the omicron variant causes surges in infections in many countries.
In the Paris region, hospitals said the measure could be applied as a last resort if infected staff is urgently needed to help keep services open and if they volunteer to work.
“If they are tired, have a scratchy throat, and prefer to stay at home, nobody will force them to come to work with COVID," said Romain Eskenazi, communications director for two hospitals in the French capital's northern suburbs.
(With AP inputs)
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