While no more patients suffered from Covid-19 in France on February 25 in the morning, six new cases were confirmed in less than 48 hours. Among them, a 60-year-old teacher from a college in Crépy-en-Valois (Oise) died overnight Tuesday to Wednesday at the Pitié-Salpêtrière hospital in Paris. It is the first French death of the epidemic, and he had not stayed abroad in a risk zone. Since the end of January, 18 people have been contaminated on the territory by the new coronavirus Sars-CoV-2. Twelve are already cured, four are still hospitalized and two are dead. In addition to his sixties, an 80-year-old Chinese tourist died on February 14 after several days in intensive care at Bichat hospital (Paris).
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Among the new cases announced, four do not present a serious form of the disease. A 36-year-old man back from Lombardy is still hospitalized in Strasbourg. A 33-year-old Franco-Chinese woman from China was hospitalized in Paris, but was able to return home on Wednesday. "The case of this young woman is special," says Professor Jérôme Salomon, director general of health at the Ministry of Health. It is negative for the new coronavirus but with traces of recent healings. This person is doing very well. ”
The third is a 64-year-old man who had made "repeated stays" in Lombardy. He was hospitalized in Annecy. His wife, also affected, was hospitalized on Wednesday. His condition is not of concern. On the other hand, the fourth patient is in a more worrying situation. It is a 55-year-old man from the Oise hospitalized in Amiens in a serious clinical situation in intensive care, according to the Ministry of Health. Like the man who died in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday, he too had not gone to a risky exposure zone. "This is why, at first, they were not identified as possible cases of coronavirus," says Étienne Champion, director general of the Regional Health Agency (ARS) Hauts-de-France.
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The appearance of these two cases not linked to a known outbreak is not without raising questions. Has the epidemic been present in the Oise for several days, because of a first patient who has not yet been identified? A completely possible situation, since the experts estimate that outside China two thirds of the cases of Covid-19 are not diagnosed, either because the patients are not regarded as “at risk” or because they present symptoms very little concern.
A reassuring Ministry of Health
Investigations are underway to identify the people with whom these two Oise patients may have been in contact. “It is not known if these two people could be related. We are still looking for the route of the virus, ” recognized Professor Jérôme Salomon on Wednesday evening. The deceased teacher had been on sick leave since February 12 and has therefore not attended his establishment since that date. It was the sudden deterioration in his state of health that led to his transfer on February 25 from Creil to Pitié-Salpêtrière, to carry out a coronavirus test there. The exact conditions of his death remain mysterious, because covered by medical confidentiality.
We have exceeded 81,000 cases worldwide
Jérôme Salomon, Director General of Health at the Ministry of HealthThe start of the school year will not take place until next Monday, but the rectorate has already warned the families of the students to act as quickly as possible if symptoms appear. The ARS specifies that the period of incubation and onset of the disease being a maximum of 14 days, only parents, adults and children, colleagues or parents of students who have been in contact and whose symptoms - fever, cough , breathing difficulties - started between February 12 and February 25 inclusive are invited to come forward.
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The Ministry of Health continues to be reassuring on the Covid-19. Insisting in particular on the absence of serious cases at the global level among children under 15. "We have exceeded 81,000 cases worldwide ," adds Jérôme Salomon. With a ratio of 80% of minor forms, 15% of severe forms and 5% of severe forms. But we also have confirmation of 30,000 people healed. With a confirmed tendency of gravity which is linked to age or the presence of pathologies. ”
