The latest is a wedding organized in Haute-Savoie which has turned into a hotbed of contamination. Twelve people there contracted Covid-19. France now has 120 of these clusters under investigation, according to the latest report from the Directorate General of Health (DGS) published on Thursday. This is 10 more than the day before and 23 more than eight days ago.
“Given the incubation period, the contagiousness […], chains of transmission, sometimes important, are formed. Groups or clusters are then detected ”, indicates the DRS in its press release.
A "crucial" effort
While they were until then rather detected in slaughterhouses and nursing homes like in Mayenne, clusters are increasingly provoked by family gatherings. In its epidemiological bulletin, dated July 17, Public Health France also calls for "special attention" to these groups.
Another worrying indicator, according to the DGS: the number of new daily cases. More than 1000 have been identified in 24 hours while for three consecutive weeks, it has been on the rise and this "increase is intensifying", underlines at the same time Public Health France on Thursday in its weekly update on the epidemic.
3,589 new cases were detected last week in metropolitan France, an increase of 27% compared to the previous week, after weekly increases of 21% and 13%, details the health agency. However, this increase is not only linked to the intensification of screening, since the number of cases detected is progressing more rapidly as a percentage than the number of tests carried out.
A guilty release
According to the DGS, "this underlying trend indicates that our recent habits" (relaxation of the application of barrier gestures, increase in the number of risky contacts, etc.) "have been promoting the circulation of the virus for several weeks already".
She therefore hammers home her message, which has already been repeated many times. “During the summer and during the holidays, it may seem artificial to greet each other by keeping your distance, to discuss from a distance, to wash your hands regularly and to wear a mask [...] in confined spaces, but this individual and collective effort is crucial ”, we can read in the press release of the DGS, which finally insists on the need to be screened at the slightest symptom and to isolate oneself while waiting for the result.