The epidemic recovery is confirmed, leading to the return of queues in front of pharmacies and laboratories.
Last week, according to the latest data from Drees, attached to the Ministry of Health, more French people were asking for Covid-19 screening tests.
Over seven days, 1.62 million samples were validated by a health professional, an increase of 25% compared to the previous week.
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This is a “
significant increase
”, notes the statistical service of the ministry, which specifies that a little more than half of this total were antigenic tests.
In addition, the increase is particularly strong among “
under 16s
”, but it concerned all age groups.
Similarly, saliva tests, performed for three quarters of children aged eleven or under, were also up 36%.
Unsurprisingly, the current dynamic goes hand in hand with the epidemic rebound observed in France since the end of May.
The daily number of positive cases has since tripled, and the average number of tests performed each day has followed the same curve, rising from 150,000 the week of May 23 to 231,000 last week.
Since mid-July 2020, France has recorded more than 301 million RT-PCR and antigen tests, more than half of them in 2021. In the first six months of 2022, nearly 100 million samples were validated, a dynamic explained by the Omicron wave which has crossed France since last November.
Despite the recovery observed in recent weeks, the demand for tests remains at its lowest for more than a year: in May, 6.2 million results were validated, i.e. half as many as in April and the lowest balance sheet since September 2020.
For the time being, the authorities are cautiously observing the epidemic resumption caused by the Ba.4 and Ba.5 subvariants.
During a press briefing on Tuesday, the Ministry of Health expressed concern about the low number of people who received a fourth dose of vaccine, while only a quarter of eligible individuals actually received this reminder.
The rebound in cases remains limited but vaccine "
weariness
" should not weaken the shield against the epidemic, warned Professor Alain Fischer.
