the thirteen survivors of the flooded cave are all in good health

They were invited by Fifa to attend Sunday at the final of the 2018 World Cup in Moscow. But budding footballers and their coaches who survived the flooded cave in Tham Luang, northern Thailand, will have to watch the game on television from their hospital bed. The twelve teenagers will stay at least one week in Chiang Rai, where they were immediately transferred after finding fresh air. Children aged 11 to 16 and their 25-year-old coach were taken out for three days, the last group having returned to the open air on Tuesday night. They are currently quarantined. For several more days, they will not even be able to be hugged by their parents. Some have already been able to talk to them dressed in protective clothing two meters away.

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The authorities distill drop of information on their state of health and placed the group in a cocoon. No image of the children has filtered since the day they appeared emaciated but alive after nine days cut off from the world. "They are all in good mental health," rebadured the Thai Ministry of Health. The first eight teenagers who went out Sunday and Monday underwent radiological examinations and blood tests. Three boys with signs of pneumonia received antibiotics. All were vaccinated against rabies and tetanus. The boys have more or less lost two pounds during their stay underground. The first outings have resumed normal feeding

"Their coach has managed the situation very well"

The hardest is probably to come for the thirteen survivors. They should receive psychological counseling for several months. "After such an ordeal, finding yourself in similar circumstances, like being in the dark, in a room with the door closed, having to have a CT scan, or even swimming, can wake up the trauma," says Jennifer Wild of the Study Center. anxiety and trauma in Oxford. "If they can see this event as an out-of-the-ordinary adventure rather than rehash the ways it could have cost their lives, they can pretty much get through it emotionally," says Jennifer Wild, interviewed by the Science Media Center. .

For the time being, the presence of their 25-year-old coach, who has spent time in Buddhist monasteries, has been a rebaduring factor for adolescents, according to the authorities. "They were all together, as a team, helping each other. Their coach has handled the situation very well, "Thongchai Lertwilairatanapong of the Ministry of Health said on Wednesday. The coach begins to look like a hero despite being the only adult in the company of the children when they decided, after their football training, to visit the cave, floodable in the monsoon season as indicated by a sign at the entrance of the cave. On this point, the football coach has apologized to the parents in a letter. The reason that led the group in the cave remains, still unknown.