While on Thursday, Prime Minister Jean Castex announced the lifting of the mask and the vaccine pass for mid-March, the epidemic seems to be receding less quickly than in mid-February.
French hospitals are currently welcoming 22,643 patients (compared to 23,175 yesterday) positive for Covid, including 1,012 new admissions in 24 hours (1,285 seven days ago), down 24% in one week.
Figures still down 11% from last Friday (25,484).
Daily admissions to critical care, where the most serious cases are found, are also down 18% over one week, with 104 new patients treated in the last 24 hours (compared to 111 seven days ago) .
A total of 2,153 patients are treated there.
Last Friday, French hospitals counted 2,546 patients in critical care, a drop of 15%.
As a reminder, Olivier Véran, Minister of Solidarity and Health, estimated that “there should be 1,500 patients in intensive care” for the lifting of restrictions.
So in 10 days.
Public Health France also lists another 162 deaths in the past 24 hours (a figure down 23% over the week), bringing the number of deaths since the start of the pandemic to at least 139,104 victims.
The number of new cases almost identical to last Friday
The incidence rate, which corresponds to the number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants, is approaching 500 and reached 545.5 this Friday.
It thus recorded a drop of 25% over one week, against -45% per week in mid-February.
There are 57,789 new cases this Friday, compared to 58,138 a week ago.
A number of cases which is already decreasing much less rapidly than in previous weeks and could be heading towards a plateau.
• The incidence rate continues to decrease (but less and less rapidly), and is approaching 500.
• The positivity rate drops below 20%, for the first time since mid-January.
1/2 #Covid19 pic.twitter.com/K39GHuYsDB
— Nicolas Berrod (@nicolasberrod) March 4, 2022
On the vaccination side, 54,222,817 people received at least one injection (i.e. 80.4% of the total population) and some 53,265,564 French people now have a complete vaccination schedule (i.e. 79% of the total population).
In the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health announces that 5,619 people have still received a first injection and 39,467 have been able to have their booster dose, bringing the total to 39,137,172.