“You have to keep in mind that even if you leave without the virus in your suitcases, he does not take a vacation”, declared on Saturday July 9 on franceinfo the infectiologist Benjamin Davido, Covid-19 referent at the Raymond Poincaré hospital in Garches. For the past week, 130,000 cases per day on average have been detected every day. “The risk is always present”warned the infectious disease specialist.
franceinfo: Do you recommend putting the mask back on in busy areas or indoors?
Benjamin Davido: In any case in areas of high traffic and when you are indoors in poorly ventilated, poorly ventilated spaces, I believe that this effort must be made. The French, in my opinion, guess that the objective is not to arrive at the vacation spot and spend four or five days bedridden. It’s not pleasant for anyone. It will also likely continue to consume healing. 150,000 positive people daily, beyond the figure, it is worrying, it is that there are up to 30% positive in certain regions, which is almost unheard of and reminds us of the beginning of the Omicron wave. So we need to be careful not to unbalance the hospital a little more, which is already in a difficult situation at the start of this summer.
Which regions have the most cases?
These are Ile-de-France and the Paca region. It’s a safe bet that we risk finding ourselves like last summer, with new clusters that will light up in these vacation spots where there will have been a mix. I think you have to keep in mind, unfortunately, that even if you leave without the virus in your suitcases, he doesn’t take a vacation and the risk is always present. We can clearly see that the most vulnerable people must already think about it, if not get the vaccine to ensure holidays in the best conditions and not end up sick. Moreover, the mask has become an object of defiance. Yet it is this same mask that protected us for almost a year when we had no vaccine. It is scientifically proven to be effective. I don’t think it should be an object of distrust. I think that in the minds of the French, what is confusing is that we explained to them a little over a month and a half ago that the virus was gone and that the masks had to be removed and, then , they were called to a vaccination campaign, which meant that the mask was opposed to vaccination. In my view, this is a mistake. I think these two tools are complementary.
Hospitalizations are on the rise in this seventh wave. Have you noticed this in your establishment in Garches?
We have been alerting to this wave that is emerging for about three weeks. We have clearly seen since this week a substantial increase in hospitalizations, including severe forms. Until then, resuscitation was protected and we can clearly see that in reality, arithmetically, we are going to find ourselves in a situation where people who have not had their fourth dose and who are fragile, those who have stopped at the second, will put themselves in a difficult situation. A very interesting article is about to appear, which shows that in intensive care patients with Omicron compared to Delta are in an equally serious condition. We will have to think about strategies for the next school year. We gladly understand that everyone wants a break during these holidays and it is completely normal. However, we won’t be able to get back to school in the right conditions if we don’t do anything today.