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Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
As autumn approaches, speculation is rife with regard to Covid-19. While some predict an eighth wave of the disease, the director of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus evokes the end of the pandemic.
Two weeks after the start of the school year, the first figures concerning Covid-19 since the return of children to school have appeared, published by Public Health France. From September 5 to 11, the incidence rate increased for the first time after eight weeks of decline, in most metropolitan areas.
More than 18,000 new cases per day
The incidence rate “was 186 per 100,000 inhabitants, i.e. more than 18,000 new cases per day on average” writes Public Health France, “the trend was more heterogeneous in terms of age groups, the increase being mainly carried by those under 20. It is the Omicron variant and its BA.5 sub-lineage which continues to circulate exclusively in France, for the moment.
Hospital indicators down
As for hospital indicators, they continue to decline in most regions. At “national level, 1,925 new hospitalizations (i.e. -16%) and 201 new admissions to critical care (-18%) have been recorded” further indicates SPF. “In Overseas France, the virological indicators were down across all territories”.
Are we really out of trouble?
During a press conference held yesterday, September 14, 2022 in Geneva, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) said that “the world has never been better placed to end the Covid-19 pandemic”.
For the head of the WHO, many signals are encouraging. “Last week, the number of weekly deaths reported by Covid-19 was the lowest since March 2020. We have never been better placed to end the pandemic. We’re not there yet, but the end is in sight.” continued Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The WHO has also published on its website six notes which describe the main measures to be taken by governments to end the pandemic. ” This is an urgent call for governments to carefully review and strengthen their policies for Covid-19 and future pathogens with pandemic potential.“, added the boss of the WHO.
Towards an eighth wave?
According to the latest figures issued by the UN organization, the number of weekly cases are steadily declining worldwide. In addition, according to the WHO’s weekly epidemiological update, 11,000 deaths were reported between 5 and 11 September, a decrease of 22% in deaths compared to the previous week.
In France too, despite a slight tremor in the number of cases, in particular among children under 10, the figures remain low and nothing allows for the time being to put in place measures such as the wearing of masks indoors. , for example.
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No panic, says Dr Gérald Kierzek
For Dr Gérald Kierzek, emergency physician and medical director of Doctissimo, “of course there will be an eighth wave of the virus, but also a ninth and a tenth… We must stop counting the number of cases of contamination, testing massively… What is important are the deaths and the hospitalizations. These figures are stable for the moment, so there is no reason to panic..
For him, the media monitoring of the virus does not really have to be. “We do not follow all respiratory viruses with a magnifying glass. Strictly speaking, the Covid virus must be monitored by sentinel networks, but there is no reason to panic the population further” concludes the doctor.