The coronavirus epidemic is taking worrying proportions this Friday, August 21, while 4,586 new cases have been detected in the past 24 hours, according to the daily press release from the Directorate General of Health (DGS). The day before, 4,771 cases had been detected. 20,482 cases were detected in one week.
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23 people have died from Covid in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 30,503 victims. 210 new hospital admissions were recorded, for a total of 4,745 patients currently hospitalized. Among them, 37 new serious patients were admitted to intensive care, bringing the number of patients in these units to 379. The “ Île-de-France, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Hauts-de-France and Guyana regions group together 67% of patients in intensive care, ”specifies the DGS.
430 “ clusters ”, or sources of contagion, are still active in the territory, including 44 new ones that have been detected in the last 24 hours. Between August 12 and August 18, 700,051 were carried out in the territory, with a positivity rate of 3.4% - a figure that has been rising sharply for several days. Since the start of the epidemic, 109,949 people have been hospitalized and 84,829 have returned home.
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Incidence rate increased in seven days by 42%
" The circulation of the virus is accelerating: the incidence rate has increased in seven days by 42%. Nine departments have now exceeded the alert threshold of 50 new positive cases detected during the last 7 days per 100,000 inhabitants ”, indicates the DGS.
In these times of epidemics, it is more than ever advisable to respect the “ 3M ” ( keep a distance of a meter, wash your hands and put on a mask) in order to avoid any risk of contamination. And as the summer season slowly approaches its end, the Directorate General of Health encourages anyone to be tested on their return from vacation. PCR tests are also " achievable without a medical prescription and with 100% social security coverage ", specifies the DGS.
As a reminder, wearing a mask will be compulsory in companies from September 1. Several cities, including Toulouse and Nice, have already imposed this protection outdoors, which has become the spearhead of the fight against the coronavirus.
Globally, the bar of 22.7 million infected since the appearance of the virus has been crossed, for a total of at least 794,466 deaths.
