The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

Coronavirus: new clusters and increasing reproduction rate, what is the situation in France?

2020-07-17T22:36:22.118Z


As the summer vacation begins, scientists' eyes are on the signs that could signal a return to the epidemic in France.


"France is ready [to face] a second wave," announced Emmanuel Macron during his televised address on July 14. Is the second wave already on our doorstep? "The François must remain cautious and responsible, " replied the Minister of Health, questioned on July 16 on France Inter. For several days, signs have alerted scientists. The epidemic has so far claimed more than 30,000 lives and infected at least 170,000 people.

As of Wednesday, July 15, 6,915 people were still hospitalized for Covid-19 infection and 133 new admissions were recorded. Even if the number of serious patients in intensive care decreases, the virus is still circulating. Since May 9, 482 clusters have been identified, eight of which have appeared in the last 24 hours and 104 that are still active.

The first warning signs

In its daily report of July 15, Public Health France warns about the rate of reproduction of the virus for the first time higher than 1. What does this mean? For the first time since deconfinement on the whole territory, a contaminated person infects more than one.

Each region is closely monitored by regional health agencies, which record the number of cases declared, hospitalizations and medical procedures performed. In recent days, they have experienced a slight increase. The number of inpatients remains down with 6,915 people in hospital on July 15.

As of July 15, four regions are receiving 71% of the patients hospitalized in intensive care: Île-de-France, Grand Est, Hauts-de-France and Guyana. In the latter, " the circulation of the virus remains worrying, " said the Directorate General of Health (DGS). Other territories such as Mayenne, Gironde or the PACA region show worrying signs and are observed with a magnifying glass by scientists.

In Mayenne, " a problematic situation "

" In Mayenne, the situation is problematic, " worried Olivier Véran on France Inter on July 15. A few days before, the elected officials of the department mobilized to request the wearing of the mandatory mask in all enclosed public places to limit the spread of the virus.

Proposal accepted by the prefect who announced on July 16 the wearing of mandatory masks in six municipalities in the region.

On the same day, the government undertook to make it compulsory in all closed public places, in particular in shops throughout the territory "from next week".

La Mayenne, which has several Covid-19 outbreaks, slightly exceeded the alert threshold with 50.1 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants detected in seven days, according to the public health agency France.

A situation closely followed by the health authorities. " There are groups of identified patients, chains of contamination that are being tracked, " said Olivier Véran. Most of the cases are in " enclosed or confined places in which we know how to identify people who are sick ", but " there is also a virus circulating on the territory ". " This is why we are massively increasing the capacity for on-site testing ," with four drive tests in Laval accessible to everyone " even without a prescription, " said the minister.

Gironde and PACA: these regions that see red

Other regions remain alert to signs of a resumption of the epidemic. Public health France describes the situation in Gironde as "moderately vulnerable". Marseille and its region are worried about "a slight thrill from the increase in cases across the country" revealed on BFMTV Annie Levy-Mozziconacci, doctor from Marseille.

Concern mounts slightly in Paris

" Weak signals of epidemic recovery " from the Covid-19 epidemic are reported in Parisian hospitals, warned this July 16 the Minister of Health Olivier Véran on France Inter, calling for the " vigilance " of the French. These indicators are "not worrying but of particular attention ". To maintain this progression of the epidemic, the minister asked the French to remain responsible and vigilant. In addition, Ile-de-France residents will be able to be tested more easily and quickly thanks to a shipment of " 1.5 million diagnostic prescriptions ".

Source: lefigaro

All tech articles on 2020-07-17

You may like

News/Politics 2024-03-06T08:05:49.282Z

Trends 24h

Tech/Game 2024-03-27T18:05:36.686Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.