The circulation of the Covid-19 virus "
continues at a high level
" in France and its increase, "
in particular among the elderly
",
raises
fears "
the continuation of hospitalizations and deaths in the coming weeks
", according to the official data released Friday, October 9.
Read also: Covid: do serious cases only concern the elderly?
“
At the national level, new hospitalizations, admissions to intensive care for Covid-19 and the numbers of deaths currently remain at moderate levels compared to the situation observed in March-April 2020, but the increase in the circulation of the virus, in particular among the oldest people,
raises
fears of the continuation of hospitalizations and deaths in the weeks to come
”, notes the health agency Public Health France in its weekly bulletin, which relates to the 40th week of the year, from September 28 to October 4.
Increase in all indicators
Among 65-74 year olds, the number of cases doubled in five weeks, while it was multiplied by 2.2 in five weeks among those 75 and over.
"
This increase in the number of cases in the elderly is worrying because these people are the most at risk of complications from COVID-19
", insists Public Health France, which already alerted last week on this point.
Read also: Covid-19: drastic measures expected in England
For the week of September 28 to October 4, the number of deaths linked to Covid-19 stood at 449, up slightly from the previous week (436), which itself marked a marked increase (332 during the week 38).
In total, according to a report published Thursday evening, 32,521 people with the new coronavirus have died in France since the start of the epidemic.
The number of new intensive care admissions continued to increase, to 893 against 786, and "
if the dynamics of the epidemic continue
", "
it is estimated that the weekly number of new patients admitted to intensive care will have doubled in 17 days.
".
"
The overall trend of monitoring indicators for the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic remains on the increase
": the number of new confirmed cases is up 7% to 77,980 throughout France, the test positivity rate also increased, to 9.1% against 7.7%, and the incidence rate (new cases over seven days) in metropolitan France was also increasing with 116 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (108 the previous week).
Read also: Covid-19: the great vagueness of the epidemic monitoring indicators
But the health agency warns that the number of new cases and the incidence rate can be underestimated, "
because of the still existing tensions on the diagnostic capacities (of the laboratories) and the deadlines for reporting results and therefore the data consolidation
”.
While people aged 15 to 44 are still the most affected, the most significant increase is among those aged 65 to 74, with an incidence rate of 62 per 100,000 inhabitants (+ 15%) and among those aged 75 and more (69 per 100,000 inhabitants, + 14%).
Faced with the worsening of the indicators, the government has decided to place several new metropolises in high alert zones, synonymous with restrictions such as the closure of bars and stricter reception conditions in restaurants.
After Aix-Marseille and Paris, this will be the case on Saturday for Lyon, Lille, Grenoble and Saint-Etienne.
The cities of Toulouse and Montpellier could also switch from here to Monday, announced Thursday the Minister of Health Olivier Véran.