Story By: Ernest Bio Bogore, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency:  Newsflash

French nurses claim they are being told to “move” by their neighbours who are afraid of the health workers bringing coronavirus home with them.

One nurse, identified in local media as Sophie Rainoldi, who lives in Toulouse in southern Occitanie region, says she received a letter asking her to avoid parking next to her neighbours’ cars while other nurses have even been told to move house.

The letter reads: “You’re a nurse so you’re more likely to be infected with the virus so please do not park near other cars on the property.” The letter also said she should “walk her dog further away.”

The nurse expressed her shock at the situation, saying: “These are the kinds of messages we receive. More and more. Both in mailboxes and on car windshields.

“I’m not a terrorist, I’m a healthcare worker!”

The nurse said she follows strict hygiene rules and is not more likely to be infected than others, saying: “I scrupulously apply the rules of hygiene. I leave my blouse at work. I wash my hands and as soon as I get home from work I take a shower.

“Just because I’m a caregiver it doesn’t mean I bring home coronavirus or any of the other diseases. There’s no more of a problem with me than there is with any other person.”

Reacting to Rainoldi’s publication, an internet user commented: “Sophie, be brave, let the fools talk, the other day I got it too, not as bad, but still.”

Reports say she is not the only French nurse who has received similar messages. Another nurse by the name of Sophie who lives in Antibes in the French Riviera said she had been discriminated against.

She said: “We have set up a WhatsApp professional coordination discussion group with my colleagues. And every day we see new letters coming in.

“A coworker’s neighbours asked him not to touch the doorknobs. Others asked him not to use the common areas. Neighbours are asking us to move. Can you believe it?”

The nurse called for the general population to show more solidarity with health workers, saying: “They applaud us at 8 pm and then they treat us like this.

“We talk a lot about this among ourselves. It’s something that can make us vulnerable, especially in these times.”

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