The ninth wave of the Covid-19 epidemic is “ still progressing in France, associated with an increase in hospitalizations and deaths, observed Thursday, December 8, the health authorities, while the country also faces the flu and bronchiolitis.
There “ triple epidemic » faced by France is « completely new “And its evolution still difficult to predict, had underlined Public Health France a week ago. A surging Covid-19, early and ascending flu and bronchiolitis at record levels for more than a decade in infants are simultaneously impacting an already very strained health system.
Always Omicron
On the Covid-19 side, the incidence rates continued to increase in all regions of mainland France, under the effect of a wave still carried by the Omicron variant. Hospitalizations rose for the third consecutive week, the rate of new admissions however seeming to decline (+7%, against +13% the previous week). And the deaths, in the hospital and in medico-social establishments, started to progress again, “ after several weeks of decline “.
According to Sonia Tropé, director of the National Association for the Defense against Rheumatoid Arthritis (Andar), ” we are faced with a situation which is nevertheless particular, there are three epidemics which are concomitant, with the Covid-19, the flu and bronchiolitis, and, in particular for the Covid-19, the prophylactic treatments are ineffective on the sub-variant which is the majority in France […]. The quick and effective solution to avoid the worst is the return of the mask and barrier gestures. So the return to the mask is essential, it is a surge of solidarity for the most exposed people in the population, there are still 300,000 people who are in severe immunosuppression, and who risk their lives by being confronted to Covid-19. We don’t have a real solution to preserve them completely, so it’s essential, whether you have relatives or not concerned, think about it and go back to barrier gestures. »
” Volunteering »
As the end of year celebrations approach, the government only wants to encourage the wearing of masks, but caregivers, epidemiologists, patient associations urge it to impose it in closed places, reports AFP . Emmanuel Macron put on a mask on December 8 during a trip to Vienne, believing that it was necessary to “ resume habits “Faced with the rise of the Covid-19 epidemic, “ on a voluntary basis “.
►Also read : France: for the public health agency, the country is affected by a “triple epidemic”