Hearing on how French nursing homes handled virus

A Paris court is holding a hearing Wednesday in a class-action effort to hold French health authorities and companies accountable after thousands of people with coronavirus died in nursing homes, and families were locked out and left in dark about what was happening to ir isolated loved ones.

hearing is a first step in what is likely to be a years-long legal marathon.

Families hope it shines light on what went wrong last year as virus devastated France's oldest generation and deprived ir children and grandchildren of a chance to help, or to say goodbye.

"I want to know how many masks we h, why it wasn't mandatory in order to protect residents but also staff" said plaintiff Sabrina Deliry, who has mobilized families around France since her mor's Paris nursing home was first locked down a year ago.

hearing Wednesday involves a special measure to demand access to documents or or material involving decisions at nursing homes. It is among many legal efforts around mismanagement of pandemic working through French justice system.

Ors include manslaughter charges, or target top government ministers, but this could be one of most far-reaching.

"We have many concrete questions. y are based on individual cases and we are trying to trace chain of responsibilities" said Christophe Leguevaques, a lawyer representing families.

It targets several nursing homes, national health agency DGS, Paris public hospital authority and ors. Plaintiffs include family members of nursing home residents, doctors and associations.

ir complaint focuses on multiple issues at homes for elderly and disabled during first half of 2020: mask shortages for residents and staff; testing shortages; use of a powerful sedative called Rivotril on some residents while homes were locked down; and opaque decisions on which residents received hospital treatment for virus and which were left to suffer or die in ir care homes.

national health agency, Paris hospital authority and two of nursing homes named did not respond to requests for comment ahe of hearing.

Official figures show that nearly 25,000 people with virus have died in French nursing homes out of more than 87,000 lives lost nationwide - a death toll still climbing by hundreds every day.

But thousands of or French nursing home residents who contracted COVID-19 died after being hospitalized, and studies suggest care home residents make up as many as half of France's overall virus victims. That is among highest proportions worldwide.