From the past the Covid-19? Although it has become more difficult to measure the evolution of the epidemic in France, several indicators point to a slight resumption of the circulation of the virus.
The first to notice this return: pharmacists. In pharmacies, the French with a fever or a sharp sore throat jostle at the door. “We were [redescendus] to 2-3 tests per day. We went there around ten. And honestly, three quarters are positive”, says pharmacist Laura Ollivier.
The tourist regions affected
This increase is particularly important in certain regions, as highlighted by the latest bulletin from Public Health France (SPF). “Most of the laboratory-confirmed positive cases in week 33 come from the six regions, five of which are the same as in the past two weeks,” the health agency said.
More specifically, these are Île-de-France, Occitania, the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region and New Aquitaine. Or the “very touristy” regions, as the SPF points out. An upward curve that could be maintained -or accentuated- at the time of the start of the school year.
In detail, the incidence at the national level increased by 47% in the space of a week, going from 12 to 18 positive cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Although the trend is not adequate and emergency visits are increasing, traffic continues “at very low levels”, reassures the SPF.
Immunity and vaccines
The resumption of the epidemic is not limited to France. Outbreaks of cases are occurring abroad, especially in the US, where the virus is forcing some schools to close their doors.
“It seems that the peaks have been reached in the United Kingdom and in the United States. So we had to face a small summer wave relatively controlled by current immunity,” relativizes Antoine Flahault, a professor in Geneva and director of the Institute. Global Health Institute.
Immunity is, therefore, a matter of the beginning of the school year, whether natural or acquired thanks to vaccines. The first could only be partial, due to the circulation of new variants in France and in the world.
“The situation in France continues to be characterized by the cocirculation of numerous sublineages of the Omicron variety,” the health authorities list.
Therefore, the new vaccination campaign planned for the autumn in France promises to be crucial, especially for the elderly or those with underlying diseases. “These are the people who need to be protected first and foremost,” recalls Sylvie Briant, director of WHO’s department of epidemic and pandemic risk.
Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau also advised “resuming the reflex of putting on a mask” when necessary.
A call for vaccination that, however, did not start before the resumption of the epidemic. This was put in the pipes in February. The objective, to avoid an overload of hospitals that could combine the epidemics of Covid-19 and flu. It is to be hoped that the return to school on September 4 will not serve as a reinforcement dose to the epidemic.
Source: BFM TV
