Covid-19: the slowdown of the 9th wave is confirmed and is beginning to be reflected in the hospital

The current wave of Covid-19 in France is slowing down in terms of contamination and now hospitalizations, just before the start of the end-of-year holidays, the weekly figures from the health authorities show this Thursday.

Last week, the circulation of the coronavirus “slowed down in the national territory, but remained at a high level,” summarizes the French public health agency in a bulletin published on its site.

“A drop in the incidence rate and the positivity rate was observed in almost all regions and age groups,” he explains.

A peak reached over several days?

The epidemic, which had experienced a lull after a wave at the end of the summer, started again for more than a month. This rebound has led to a series of hospitalizations for covid – more than 25,000 – unprecedented since last spring.

But the current wave seems to have peaked. For several days now, the daily number of new cases -49,517 on Thursday- has been falling systematically.

This eventual increase begins to carry over to the hospital. Last week, new hospitalizations fell 4% to 8,354 patients. However, only in intensive care, the trend remains slightly upward (+1% to 737 admissions).

This evolution only gives an idea of ​​the situation at the national level. In some regions, Public Health France notes that hospital admissions continue to rise.

Health authorities in the face of the triple epidemic

This wave contributes to a context of a “triple epidemic”, which is putting the health system to the test. Covid is added, in effect, to the flu, whose epidemic is spreading throughout the metropolis, and to bronchiolitis, at record levels for more than a decade in infants despite a recent slowdown.

The health organization therefore reiterated its calls for flu and anti-Covid vaccination of people at risk, especially the elderly, and respect for gestures such as the use of a mask in closed and frequented places.

In addition, another health agency, the General Directorate of Health (DGS), warned on Thursday, in a message to caregivers, that no anti-Covid antibody treatment is recommended in France anymore.

This follows the finding that these drugs have lost their effectiveness against current variants of the coronavirus. On the other hand, the health authorities seek to expedite the prescriptions of another type of treatment, the Paxlovid pill from Pfizer.