A new Health Defense Council on Wednesday February 17 is expected to ratify the
status quo
in the face of the Covid-19 epidemic in France, with contaminations that have stabilized at a high level.
Read also: Coronavirus: the executive under threat of variants
The choice not to confine and to bet on the curfew at 6 p.m. seems to have to remain the line of the executive.
"
We must not take exceptional measures because we can clearly see today that the plateau is under control, that our hospital capacity is responding, that the number of people in intensive care has fallen, by little
", said the president of the LREM group. at the National Assembly, Christophe Castaner, Wednesday on France 2.
"
We must remain extremely vigilant, attentive
", he adds, before the Defense Council.
And "
no one can predict either the worst or the best
".
Hospitals remain in high demand, as a note from the Directorate General of Health noted on Tuesday.
"
The epidemic situation is worrying with the persistence of strong tensions in hospital services in the eastern regions, combined with a significant increase in the virus and the demand for healthcare in the western regions, in a context of circulation of several variants of SARS-CoV2
”(the virus appeared in 2019), indicates the DGS in this note.
Read also: Covid-19: a Health Defense Council meets this Friday at 6 p.m.
According to this branch of the Ministry of Health, "
the effects on the health system are difficult to assess at this stage
".
The number of patients hospitalized in intensive care, therefore suffering from severe forms, was 3338 on Tuesday, the highest for a week, and up by more than a quarter compared to the beginning of January.
As for the number of new cases, it exceeds 18,000 per day on average over the past week, far above the levels necessary to hope for any relaxation of the restrictive measures.
The fear of the British variant
Some scientists are even pessimistic in their forecasts, such as Inserm researchers who note that "
the historical strain of SARS-CoV-2 is decreasing while the progression of the British variant is intensifying
".
This much more contagious variant "
could become dominant in France the last week of February or the first week of March, with large regional disparities
", predict these researchers, in a study published Monday.
They recommend "
a strengthening of social distancing measures
".
This is not the direction taken and, on the contrary, Christophe Castaner welcomed the upcoming experiments with concerts with the public, which could "
teach us to live with the virus and give us a positive horizon
".
Four new members were appointed Wednesday to the Scientific Council, which helps shape the government's strategy.
Note the entry of a veterinarian, Thierry Lefrançois.
"
The last decades have been marked by health crises which have often highlighted the interdependence between animals, humans and ecosystems
", commented the Minister of Agriculture Julien Denormandie in a press release.
The three other doctors who join this council are an infectious disease specialist, Catherine Chirouze, a child psychiatrist, Angèle Consoli, and the president of the French Geriatric Society Olivier Guérin.
Vaccination continues at a pace that is struggling to catch up with demand: according to the DGS, 4.4% of adults in France have received a first injection, or 3.16 million people.