He passed away on January 11 at the age of 81. Etienne Draber, facetious actor, contracted Covid-19 in hospital, after heart surgery. His condition is deteriorating rapidly. Transferred to another department, his daughter Stéphanie is no longer allowed to visit him. She cannot accompany him in his last moments.

Misunderstanding and anger

“I came with a gun to the Covid Geriatric Unit, ‘Can I see my father? »« We don’t see anyone. You will see it at the last moment ”I was dumbfounded. My father was asking for me and it was “no no no”.

My father cried a lot and on the morning of the 11th he passed away at 10:45 am. And there we were told that we had the right to see him for an hour and then we would not see him again because people who die from Covid are immediately put in a plastic cover with a bar code and a number. How can you grieve this? ” remembers Stéphanie Bataille – President of the Collective hold your hand.

A national tribute claimed by families

To help these families, the Avicenne hospital in Seine-Saint-Denis has set up specialized consultations – free of charge – dedicated to all Ile-de-France residents. Since last January, the health protocol at the hospital has been relaxed but the situation remains different from one establishment to another.

With the restrictions, the brutality of the disappearance, the death may seem unreal. “Seeing the body, even if it may seem morbid, is important in order to be able to realize and accept. And then there is this idea of ​​not having respected the last wishes of the deceased. Because the person didn’t necessarily want to be cremated, they wanted to be buried in a certain place.

Because of this guilt, people cannot allow themselves to grieve. They cannot allow themselves to be well, to move forward in a way ” explains Victoria Lotz, clinical psychologist at the Avicenne Hospital (93). Get up, rebuild … and then commemorate. In order not to forget, hundreds of families are calling for a national tribute to be organized.