The country, confined since Tuesday March 17 to fight against the expansion of Covid-19, continues to live to the rhythm of confinement and health assessments, dictated daily by the Director General of Health, Professor Jérôme Salomon.
LIVE - Coronavirus: the pandemic has killed more than 6,500 people in France
France recorded Friday, April 3 the worst daily toll since the start of the epidemic: 588 people died in hospital between Thursday and Friday. Since then, this figure has decreased on Saturday April 4 and Sunday April 5. The latest official report shows 8078 deaths due to the coronavirus by counting the victims in nursing homes and other special establishments.
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However, for the past few days, there have been glimmers of hope, suggesting that the situation will soon improve. We take stock.
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- A situation that is "stabilizing" in Île-de-France
Monday April 6, Martin Hirsch, director general of the AP-HP (structure which supervises Parisian hospitals), declared on France Inter that after "a terribly trying week" , the situation seemed to "stabilize" in Île-de -France. The peak of the epidemic in the Paris region was predicted " around April 6 ", according to a document from the hospital administration dated March 31, revealed by Le Parisien .
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Martin Hirsch insisted, however, on the fact that " we should not rush things " because "if we see things stabilize, it is because containment has been put in place, [and that it is] overwhelmingly respected ”.
The boss of the Parisian hospitals recalled that "the notion of peak could immediately be removed from the vocabulary" because "a peak goes up quickly and it goes down quickly. There it goes up quickly and it goes down [...] slowly. He preferred the term plateau by noting that "a plateau in the mountains can be a plateau between two mountains, and the goal is that there is no second mountain arriving or which arrives too quickly " .
Two scenarios emerge according to the AP-HP: the figures could be stable before decreasing for five days - until approximately April 11 - or ten days - until approximately April 16.
- The need for places in intensive care is increasing less rapidly
On Sunday April 5, nearly 7,000 people were in intensive care. The Director General of Health, Jérôme Salomon, stressed that it was a record " in French medical history ". Only, the doctor was optimistic: "The permanent need to find new places (in intensive care) increases less quickly".
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If it does not weaken, the number of hospitalized for a contamination shows since March 26 a growth each day a little slower. Sunday April 6, the increase was 2.65% compared to Saturday when it reached 26% a week earlier. An identical trend is emerging on the rise in the number of patients admitted to intensive care. "It is an important indicator which allows us to perceive the tension in health establishments" , underlined Jérôme Salomon. But " we must not cry victory, " insisted Monday on BFMTV Philippe Juvin, chief of emergency at the Georges Pompidou hospital, also president of the federation LR of Hauts-de-Seine, describing a situation still " extremely tense ".
- The Grand-Est breathes a little
The Grand Est region, particularly affected, is finally hoping for a lull, with a peak probably reached between April 10 and 25, thanks in particular to the effectiveness of containment measures, said on April 3 the director of ARS , Christophe Lannelongue.
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" We are seeing, and this is a very strong sign of hope, a decrease in the rate of increase in people in care, " he explained. Thus, the number of people hospitalized in intensive care only increased by 2.8% between Wednesday and Thursday, against 38% a fortnight ago, according to him, also noting a reduction in pressure on emergencies and centers 15.
" Several indicators suggest that, in the coming days, containment measures will produce their effectiveness and that the number of serious patients will stabilize, " added the director of the ARS.
- Over 15,000 people healed since March 16
More than 15,000 people have been cured of the hospital since the start of the crisis.
- Treatment tracks are multiplying
Hope also arises from clinical trials. The controversial chloroquine treatment advocated in France, notably by Professor Didier Raoult, was known, new initiatives are multiplying.
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Tuesday, April 7 must start the Coviplasm mission, at the Saint Antoine hospital in Paris. The aim is to transfuse blood plasma from recovered patients to "patients in the acute phase of the disease" . Sixty patients from the Île-de-France, Grand-Est and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté regions will be able to benefit from it for the moment.
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Another attempt revolves around the sea worm, the arenicole. The latter has a hemoglobin 40 times more oxygenated than a human hemoglobin. A possible windfall for patients suffering from respiratory distress. This small animal is very present on the Atlantic coast. The National Agency for Health and Medicines has validated future therapeutic trials.
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- Spain seems to see the end of the tunnel
There is also a glimmer of hope in Spain. The second most affected European country after Italy with more than 13,000 victims seems to be breathing a bit. In recent days, the hellish spiral has been slowing down. Monday April 6, the increase in confirmed cases is 3.3% compared to 8.2% on April 1. The Spanish deplore 637 deaths against 950 last Thursday. This is the lowest figure in 13 days. However, vigilance remains essential and the confinement is extended by the government until April 25.
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- Italy begins to prepare for its deconfinement
Sunday, April 5, for the first time in two weeks in Italy, the number of deaths was down with only 525 deaths against 681 the day before. "The curve has started to descend," said the boss of the Higher Institute of Health, Silvio Brusaferro, on Sunday.
Italy is finally breathing a bit and preparing for the rest. The Minister of Health on Sunday exposed a five-point strategic health plan "to gradually exit" from the pandemic. Wearing a generalized mask, "scrupulous social distancing in living and working places", hospitals dedicated to Covid-19 opened after the crisis, strengthening "local health networks" and setting up an application on a smartphone to map the movements of the patients 48 hours before infection are planned to hope for an exit from the tunnel that touches the peninsula.
Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte, however, warned of the importance of " not lowering the guard " for the time being. " The emergency is not over, " added Minister of Health Roberto Speranza. The danger has not gone away. We still have a few difficult months ahead of us, let's not spoil the sacrifices made. ”
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- Austria plans to lift restrictions as early as April 14
Austria, where the Covid-19 killed 204 people, gradually wants to ease the restrictions from April 14, starting with the reopening of small businesses and according to a schedule that will span several months.
"Our goal is to restart it in stages," said Chancellor Sebastian Kurz at a press conference, calling on people to keep "the greatest discipline . "
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- "Stay home"
Despite these positive signs which let hope for a slowdown of the epidemic, the French and European governments but also the health personnel call on the citizens to respect the containment measures which have proved their worth.
The confinement "had a major impact" on the evolution of the epidemic in France and should not be released "too soon" , even if it will become "more subtle" , according to the French director general of the 'AP-HP Martin Hirsch. "Releasing the confinement too early, cracking at the moment, if I may say so, this would lead [...] to creating what we have avoided so far, the real overflow". Despite all these "little signals" and " whatever the result in a few days, we must maintain the collective effort of containment, and barrier gestures ," insisted on BFMTV the boss of Inserm Gilles Bloch.