Covid-19: the current wave is ending in mainland France – Europe 1

The current wave of Covid-19, which began in early June, has continued to decline in recent days in mainland France, neither contaminations nor hospitalizations being considered at a high level, the public health agency announced on Friday. . From August 8 to 14, “the decrease in the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 continued with an improvement in epidemiological indicators in all metropolitan regions”, summarized in a press release Public Health France, on the occasion of its weekly report. As for the overseas territories, the situation is also improving there except in Reunion where the epidemic continues to progress. For the first time in several weeks, Public Health France did not consider that contaminations and hospitalizations remained at a “high” level. It is therefore, in fact, the end of the current wave which had started at the beginning of June and caused a peak in hospitalizations at the end of July, certainly at a lower level than the two previous waves, at the start of the year and in the spring. 23,605 cases identified ThursdayThursday, 23,605 new cases had been identified, far from the more than 150,000 daily contaminations observed at the peak of the wave, and the number of patients in intensive care had fallen below the threshold of a thousand for the first time since the beginning of July. However, the public health agency maintains its recommendations in terms of precautions, encouraging in particular always to wear the mask in transport. Several specialists call for avoiding too much relaxation, including the researcher Brigitte Autran, just appointed head of the body taking over from the Scientific Council. “The most likely scenario is that of an epidemic peak at the start of the school year”, estimated this week Brigitte Autran in Le Parisien. “Will it be due to a new variant or the return of the cold? We are not guessers, but it is almost certain that there will be a wave in the fall.” Since the start of the pandemic, more than 150,000 people have died in France after being diagnosed with Covid.