A new wave of the Covid-19 epidemic is to be feared, in particular because of the possible effects of the English variant, but "
perhaps we can avoid it
", hopes Sunday January 31 the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran , in an interview with JDD, noting "
a slight deceleration
" of contaminations.
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When the decision not to reconfine “was taken on Friday by the defense council, the incidence, that is to say the number of new daily cases, had increased little for four days.
This is still the case today ”, underlines the Minister.
In addition, “
traces of viruses in wastewater, an indirect signal, are decreasing in Île-de-France.
Several weeks after its generalization, that may mean that the maximum effect of the curfew is being felt,
”he continues.
Finally, the results of the second flash survey on variants, particularly English, that the minister received on Friday, “
show that its circulation is increasing - by 50% each week - but less intensely than abroad where increases of 70 to 100% have been noted
”.
This means that “
the danger we face is possible, even probable.
But it is not certain,
”explains Véran, justifying the executive's decision not to impose a third confinement at this stage.
"
The slight deceleration of the contaminations can allow us to observe, for a few days, what will happen
".
“
Everything suggests that a new wave could emerge because of the variant;
but perhaps we will be able to avoid it thanks to the measures which we decided early on, and which the French respect
", continues Olivier Véran, for whom"
the idea is to save time, to limit the break
”.
But, he adds, “
if the incidence were to increase again, we would not hesitate.
We never said that we would not reconfine in the next fortnight if it was necessary
”.
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