EPIDEMIC: Is a rebound in the coronavirus epidemic being confirmed in France? The next few weeks should be “decisive”
Nearly 20,000 new cases of coronavirus Covid-19 have been recorded in the past 24 hours in France, according to data released this Friday by Santé Publique France, which is concerned about a possible rebound in the epidemic.
The number of confirmed cases was 19,814 on Friday against more than 20,000 dailies the previous three days. This figure has varied enormously since mid-December, varying between some 3,000 and more than 25,000. But still far, on average, from the government goal of going down to 5,000 cases per day.
An ever-increasing positivity rate
The positivity rate, which measures the percentage of people positive for coronavirus Covid-19 out of all those tested, is still increasing, at 6% (against 5.7% Thursday and 3.8% last Friday).
The number of hospitalised patients stands at 24,377, or 71 less than the previous day’s total, with 1,445 new hospitalizations in 24 hours. The number of patients in intensive care, where one in two beds is occupied by a coronavirus Covid-19 patient according to the Prime Minister, is 2,606, or 33 more than the day before, with 245 new admissions in 24 hours.
The “decisive” weeks to come
With 281 new deaths in hospital in 24 hours and an update of deaths in nursing homes (more than 300 deaths in these structures since Tuesday), the disease has now killed 67,431 people, including 46,815 in hospital, since the beginning of the epidemic.
Last week, a “net increase” in the number of new cases was noted, “perhaps the beginning of the consequences of the end-of-year gatherings,” officials from Public Health France said in their weekly report on Friday.
It will be necessary to see if this trend is confirmed and if the number of hospitalized patients increases in stride, which is “probable”, they added, stressing that the next two weeks would be “decisive for a possible rebound” caused by the Christmas and New Year. Faced with this situation, France is preparing to extend from Sunday evening the list of departments having to apply the curfew at 6 p.m.
