Impacts of environmental issues on an optimal social distancing policy towards the Covid-19 pandemic[Impacts des enjeux environnementaux sur une politique de distanciation sociale optimale face à la pandémie de Covid-19]

The 2020 Coronavirus COVID 19 pandemic has brutally confronted most national governments with a dilemma between fighting the pandemic and maintaining the economic activity. In a very short time, in the absence of effective vaccines and antivirals, they had to think about the implementation of a social distancing policy the least damaging for the economic activity by defining both its magnitude and its timeline. Depending on the priorities displayed by governments between preserving the economic activity and fighting the spread of the pandemic, social distancing policies can vary significantly. However, it was quickly observed that a social distancing policy has also had immediate positive environmental effects linked to the deep fall in the economic activity. This article models how the degree of environmental awareness in public decision-making acts on the optimal social distancing policy. The main conclusion is that higher consideration by the public authorities of the negative environmental effects generated by the economic activity can consolidate a social distancing policy against the pandemic.