PARIS — France is going through a worrying surge of the coronavirus disaster, the federal government mentioned on Friday, warning that the variety of new circumstances was quickly growing and that hospitals have been seeing an uptick in admissions.
Many residents anticipated new restrictions, particularly after the federal government’s scientific council mentioned earlier this week that authorities must take “troublesome measures.”
However the authorities didn’t announce new guidelines, vowing as an alternative to enhance the nation’s huge testing program — which has been suffering from delays in latest weeks — and urging the French to proceed social distancing measures.
The variety of new circumstances has soared not too long ago in France, the place practically 31,000 individuals have died of the coronavirus thus far. The nation registered about 54,000 new circumstances over the previous seven days — less than Spain, however excess of different neighboring international locations like Italy or Germany.
On Thursday alone, there have been practically 10,000 new confirmed circumstances, a file because the starting of the pandemic. The surge in new circumstances is partly attributed to widespread testing, however the positivity charge for these exams has additionally elevated — it was 5.four p.c this week, up from 1.5 in late July — that means that the virus can also be choosing up velocity.
Jean Castex, the French prime minister, mentioned in a televised tackle on Friday that the authorities have been significantly apprehensive a couple of renewed enhance within the variety of hospitalizations, particularly of aged individuals.
“This exhibits there isn’t any Maginot line,” mentioned Mr. Castex, who was talking after a particular cupboard assembly to debate France’s coronavirus response, referring to nationwide fortifications constructed within the 1930s. Even when the virus remains to be largely spreading amongst youthful individuals, he mentioned, it “inevitably” finally ends up reaching extra weak segments of the inhabitants.
Youthful persons are much less prone to develop extreme types of Covid-19, the illness brought on by the virus, which has restricted the impression of the surge in circumstances on France’s well being system thus far.
However final week, the rise within the variety of circumstances was highest amongst these 75 years and older, who noticed a 44 p.c bounce in contrast with the earlier week, based on the national public health authority, which famous in a latest report that young adults have been “much less systematic” in respecting social distancing.
In his tackle, Mr. Castex referred to as for renewed self-discipline. “For a number of extra months, we should show accountability always,” he mentioned.
However Mr. Castex dominated out one other nationwide lockdown and mentioned the federal government was trusting native authorities to behave on a case-by-case foundation. The mayor in Good, as an illustration, determined this week to ban all visits to retirement and nursing properties.
Forty-two of France’s 100 departments are actually categorized crimson, Mr. Castex mentioned, that means that the authorities in every space can prohibit public gatherings or restrict enterprise hours as they see match.
Mr. Castex cited three areas — the cities of Bordeaux and Marseille, and the abroad territory of Guadeloupe — the place the surge in circumstances and elevated hospitalizations have been particularly worrying.
Over 5,000 sufferers are at the moment hospitalized in France for Covid-19, with about 600 of them in intensive care. That’s nonetheless far fewer than on the peak of the outbreak in April, when over 32,000 individuals have been hospitalized due to the coronavirus. However over the previous week, about 300 new Covid-19 sufferers have been admitted each day — about double the common quantity this summer season.
The authorities are eager to emphasize — and specialists readily acknowledge — that France is best ready than it was this spring, when the primary virus wave hit. However complacency is harmful, they warn.
“Now we have exams and masks,” mentioned Dominique Costagliola, an epidemiologist on the Pierre Louis Institute of Epidemiology and Public Well being in Paris. “However so long as deaths don’t enhance and intensive care models aren’t congested, many individuals assume that calling the state of affairs severe is overreacting.”
If the authorities wait till that occurs, Ms. Costagliola mentioned, “it will likely be too late to behave.”
In contrast with the spring, when the authorities applied a strict nationwide lockdown, France has significantly ramped up its testing capability, with over a million exams each week on common, up from 500,000 in August. Assessments are free, no matter signs or potential contacts, and don’t require a medical prescription.
However laboratories are struggling to maintain up. In Paris, it typically takes as much as per week to get outcomes again — though Olivier Véran, the well being minister, has mentioned that in 80 p.c of circumstances outcomes have been out there inside 36 hours.
Lionel Barrand, president of the Union of Younger Medical Biologists, mentioned his laboratory close to Strasbourg, in japanese France, had skilled such a surge that he didn’t have sufficient machines, reagents and workers to shortly course of check outcomes.
“The technique is dangerous as a result of it’s not centered sufficient,” Mr. Barrand mentioned. “It’s higher to conduct 500,000 well-targeted exams with fast outcomes than 1 million exams with an eight-day delay.”
Mr. Castex acknowledged on Friday that whereas the rise in testing was “good news” it had typically led to “overly lengthy ready instances,” and he mentioned laboratories would now put aside particular time slots for symptomatic sufferers or their shut contacts.
He additionally mentioned that the federal government would rent 2,000 contact tracers and that isolation for individuals who examined constructive can be extra strictly enforced, though he didn’t present particulars. Mr. Castex additionally introduced that the isolation interval can be lowered to seven days from 14, consistent with latest research that confirmed dangers of contamination dropped sharply after the eighth day of an infection.
Jean-François Delfraissy, an immunologist who heads the federal government’s scientific council, mentioned that France has to strike a fragile steadiness to “stay with the virus.”
“In the course of the summer season all of us wanted to blow off some steam,” Mr. Delfraissy told Europe 1 radio on Friday. Now, he mentioned, “we have to pull ourselves again collectively a bit.”
Fixed Méheut contributed reporting.
