Coronavirus Update

Our lockdown in France has been extended by another 2 weeks until 15th April to try and get the pandemic under control. Here are some links might help you:

• France24 - rolling news on French TV but in English; watch it live online. Info on what you can and cannot do.
• Government Information page has details on the current situation and a link to the Travel Attestation PDF; gets updated regularly. It is in French but Google can translate for you. The Prefecture in Angouleme have an Attestation form in both English & French
• Réserve Civique is an initiative to support vulnerable people in these times of social isolation. Contact a local Social Centre (e.g. CSCC in Confolens, La Chrysalide in Ruffec) if you know someone in need of support or you can volunteer on the website.
• Caducée regional update report on Nouvelle Acquitaine: Charente 4 confirmed cases, Vienne 1 death & 10 confirmed cases, Haute Vienne 2 confirmed cases (as of Monday 16th). In the whole region, 132 new cases were confirmed on 25th March bringing the case count to 1007; 34 people are known to have died because of the virus.
• John Hopkins University Coronovirus Resource Centre including a dynamic map

Online newspapers can keep you abreast of changes; they are often behind paywalls unfortunately

• TheLocal - is reporting actively; has a good summary (free of paywall) of the conditions announced on Monday evening and a helpful explanation of the attestation form (free of paywall)
• Connexion - is also reporting actively
• Charente Libre - has responses to questions from the public (in French)

If you think you may have contracted the virus: you are expected to self-isolate and perhaps arrange a tele-consulation with your doctor.  Official guidelines state:

I have symptoms (cough, fever) that remind me of Covid-19: I stay at home, I avoid contact, I call a doctor before going to his office or I call the hotline number in my region. I can also benefit from a teleconsultation.

If the symptoms worsen with difficulty breathing and signs of suffocation, I call the SAMU-Center 15.

Remember to get hold of your SAMU 16 emergency booklet 1 page per sheet or 2 pages per sheet and keep it somewhere convenient.

If you have contact points for local hospitals or additional information you would like to share, please let us know.

Support links:

• Viral Kindness - a support group on Facebook (requires sign-in) for folks close to Confolens