The spread of Covid-19 is accelerating

A 42% increase in weekly cases of Covid-19 in mainland France. This sharp increase, between the cases discovered from August 3 to 9 compared to those from July 27 to August 2, confirms the progression trajectory of the virus in France at work since mid-June. These 10,915 new cases are worrying since the number of people tested has remained stable. “The current progression of the epidemic corresponds to a doubling time of cases of 18 days for the period [entre le 6 juillet et le 9 août, NDLR]” notes Public Health France.

The incidence rate is now 16.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants compared to 12.5 the previous week. However, among the 516,322 people tested between August 3 and August 9, 77% were asymptomatic, or +6% compared to the previous week from July 27 to August 2. Despite this slight increase, the number of positive people among this asymptomatic population was stable. This means that the number of symptomatic people testing themselves has decreased by 12% but they are +37% more likely to test positive. “These results testify to an increase in viral circulation, especially in symptomatic people.” explains Public Health France.

Paris and the Bouches-du-Rhône close to the alert threshold

Like last week, new contaminations particularly affect 15-44 (+46%) and especially 25-34 year olds (25-29 year olds +55%, 30-34 year olds +52%). However, this incidence is also on the rise among those over 65 (65-74 years +41%, 75 years and over +43%). But for this last category, the situation seems much more complicated. “For the 2^and consecutive week, the number of reports of Covid-19 cases in medico-social establishments (including nursing homes) seems to be stabilizing at the national level, even if an increasing trend has recently been observed in Ile-de-France“reports Public Health France. However, the older a person is, the more likely they are to develop a serious form of the disease, so the more seniors are infected, the higher the risk of increasing the number of deaths.

The virus seems to be spreading all over the territory. From August 3 to 9, nearly one in three departments had an incidence rate above the attention threshold of 10 cases per 100,000 inhabitants per week, or 12 more than the previous week. The departments most affected by this incidence rate are Bouches-du-Rhône (47/100,000 inhabitants) and Paris (46.2/100,000 inhabitants, excluding travelers tested positive at Ile-de-France airports). -France). Figures approaching the alert threshold of 50/100,000 inhabitants.

Situation that still seems under control

The number of new outbreaks detected continues to increase with 112 clusters reported between August 3 and August 9. A figure once again on the rise, but the number of people concerned is slightly down due to the smaller number of people in the clusters. Among those under investigation, the extended family environment (several households) and public/private events (temporary gatherings of people) remained the types of communities among the most concerned.

At the hospital, there has been a slight increase in the number of emergency visits for suspected Covid-19 as well as an increase in new hospitalizations for 3 weeks. The number of hospitalizations in intensive care continues to increase: it went from 78 from July 6 to 12 to 122 between August 3 and 9. The total number of patients in intensive care, however, remains below 500 patients.

Since the beginning of July, the proportion of people under 40 admitted to hospital has more than doubled compared to the period from March to June (18% vs 8%). The same trend is observed for the proportion of under 40s among new intensive care admissions, which also doubled during the same period (14% vs 7%). Mortality is currently within the usual fluctuation margins in metropolitan France, all ages combined. Public Health France calls for maintaining and respecting barrier gestures in order to limit the progression of the virus and avoid a second wave.