Approaching deconfinement, the government unveiled its first maps of France on Thursday evening, coloring the departments according to the state of the Covid-19 epidemic and resuscitation services. But where we expected only the colors green or red, a third color, orange, could surprise. Explanations.
As a reminder, three cards, the last of which is a synthesis of the two previous ones, will be presented each day until May 7, in order to give an overview of the level of deconfinement that the French should expect from May 11.
The first map assesses the rate of new Covid-19 cases in the population over a seven-day period, that is, the rate of active circulation of the virus. The second shows the hospital tension over resuscitation capacities. And the last therefore makes a synthesis, or rather a combination of the two previous ones, with a simple rule: red prevails over orange, which prevails over green. A green department in the first two cards will remain green in the third, a green department in one and orange in the other will appear orange in the end, and a red department for one criterion will be red in the summary card, which whatever its color for the other criterion.
If the departments in green and in red present little ambiguity on their meaning, questions persist around those listed in orange. Thursday evening, the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, briefly explained: "Today, we have maintained orange zones, which are intended to switch, by May 11, to green or red if the circulation of the virus had to increase or if there were too many sick people in the intensive care units ”. These territories are therefore in an intermediate situation.
For the moment, around thirty orange territories are concentrated mainly in the south-east of France.
"These cards are not anticipations for May 11"
Until May 7, we will therefore have every night not two "statistical categories" but three, for each of the criteria. Regarding the circulation of the virus, the ministry relies on the share of patients who go to the emergency room of their hospital for suspected Covid-19 infection. If this suspected infection represents less than 6% of emergency consultations, the area is in green, if this rate is between 6 and 10%, it is in orange. Finally, if this suspicion represents more than 10% of consultations, the territory appears in red.
A specific section has also been defined for the orange zones, concerning hospital pressure on resuscitation capacities. The departments in which less than 60% of intensive care beds are occupied by Covid-19 cases are shown in green. In orange, these beds are occupied between 60 and 80%, and in red, more than 80% of the patients who occupy them have coronavirus.
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Difficult to know on the basis of which precise criteria this third category will disappear, and how an orange department will finally be able to turn green or red by next week. Contacted on this subject, the General Directorate of Health has not yet responded to our request.
"These cards are not anticipations for May 11," repeated Olivier Véran on Thursday when he appeared in the 8 pm newspaper on TF1. "The French who live in a department that appears green this evening should not consider that they could go out or take risks. The whole plan for lifting the containment depends on the ability of the French to hold on for a few more days, ”he said.
Deconfinement: the map of the “red”, “orange” or “green” departments revealed