The finding is clear: among dentists in the region, the level of Covid-19 contamination is high. The profession even shows twice as much pollution as in the entire French population: specifically, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, the proportion of practitioners polluted by Covid-19 reaches 9.77% against 4.35% at the level of the national population.
4.3% of French people polluted by Covid-19
According to Public Health France, as of January 19, France had nearly 3 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 since the pandemic began. To know the rate of pollution, we therefore found this number which reaches exactly 2 million 938 333 to divide it by the number of inhabitants in France, or 66 million 990 000. The percentage obtained is therefore 4.35%.
In which wards are dentists most affected?
On the (sad) list of departments in the region most affected by the pandemic, we find Savoie, Rhône, Haute-Savoie and Ardèche.
At a lower level, the dentists of Ain, Isère, Drôme and Haute-Loire were also polluted. On the other hand, the virus had little control over the Loire, Puy-de-Dôme, Allier and Cantal.
Another lesson from this regional study: the impact of the pandemic was even more serious in the ranks of Cabinet staff. Among assistants and administrative staff, the pollution rate reached 16%, with many cases recorded in October and November.
Most pollution in the context of personal life
According to the statements of professionals who participated in the survey, 62% of the pollution occurred in connection with personal life. URPS therefore indicates: “Colleagues and their employees consider their personal protective equipment (editor’s note: and professional) effective”.
In fact, due to the risks represented by their profession, dentists could have paid an even higher price in the face of the Covid-19 epidemic. “They were well armed and knew how to deal with the crisis,” the communications service told URPS.
In a press release sent earlier, Marie-José Goumy, treasurer of the Regional Union, emphasized: “In light of the situation, the closure of our offices in mid-March made it possible to reduce the circulation of epidemics in the company of dental surgeons”.