The coronavirus continues to progress in France, in particular in certain regions. The Director General of Health, Jérôme Salomon, said on Monday that "66 serious cases" were identified. This is particularly the case "in the Haut-Rhin, and the Bas-Rhin, around Mulhouse and Strasbourg, where hospitals are in high demand," he added. In Corsica, a new outbreak is progressing, with 38 cases in the city of Ajaccio. In Oise, Haute-Savoie, and Morbihan, there are still many grouped cases. In all, 1412 cases are confirmed on the national territory, that is to say 286 more than the day before.
The number of deaths unfortunately also continues to increase. "25 people died, fifteen men and ten women, including 21 who were over 70 years old or suffering from several pathologies," said the DGS. Asked about the figure of 30 deaths mentioned on the site of Public Health France, which also depends on the Ministry of Health, Jérôme Salomon said that he communicated "only with consolidated data" to explain this discrepancy.
"Unlike Italy, the circulation of the virus is very heterogeneous in France"
But it is at our doorstep, in Italy, that the situation is most worrying, with now 9172 cases (1797 more since yesterday). And with 463 deaths, including 97 more yesterday, the fatality rate is impressive in the Peninsula, the vast majority of whom are elderly and frail.
Can radical decisions to quarantine 15 million people in the north of the country be taken soon in France? Asked about this point, the Director General of Health replied “that unlike Italy, the circulation of the virus is very heterogeneous on our territory. We have decided from the start to adopt measures already tested in other epidemics, such as SARS, and scientifically validated ”.
Among these measures are "the isolation of confirmed cases, the fact of no longer shaking hands, and the prohibition of large gatherings". But he also wanted to be reassuring, recalling that in the world "62,000 people are now healed". But not by doing anything ... like the 27 people who died in Iran after drinking adulterated alcohol, believing that alcohol protected them from the virus.
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