the back-to-school wave continues, hospitalizations increase

The back-to-school wave of Covid-19, which began in early September in France, continues to rise in terms of contamination and hospitalizations, according to the weekly report from the health authorities. Last week, the circulation of the virus progressed “strongly on the whole of the metropolitan territory, in particular among the oldest”summarized the Public Health Agency France in a report given Thursday, October 6.

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Over this period (the week starting September 26), “the increase also continued at the level of hospital indicators”, with a marked increase in hospital admissions with a Covid diagnosis, including in intensive care. According to the most recent data, as of Friday evening, 61,121 new cases were recorded, an increase of 26.6% in one week. The total number of hospitalized patients, at nearly 16,800, has returned to its level of mid-August.

After experiencing several waves since the start of the year, the Covid-19 epidemic had fallen to a particularly low level at the end of August. But the contaminations then rebounded, in a context notably marked by the start of the school year. This context led the government to bring forward the start of the anti-Covid vaccination campaign to the beginning of October, intended for the most vulnerable and initially planned to accompany that against the flu from the middle of the month.

The health authorities do not exclude, moreover, a return to the obligation to wear the mask in closed places, a possibility openly mentioned this week by the Covars, the body which succeeded the Scientific Council. The Ministry of Health “does not forbid” such a measure, said Minister François Braun on RTL on Tuesday, nevertheless ensuring for the time being “trust the French” to take protective measures on their own.