The French have dropped the mask almost everywhere and put away their vaccination pass, but they have not yet finished with the Covid-19 epidemic.
Scientists criticize this decision as the epidemic figures are rising again.
Since the beginning of March, the average number of new cases, calculated over a week, has started to rise again. The daily average reached 89,002 cases per day on Sunday, compared to 65,251 the previous week. This epidemic rebound is also noticeable in schools, after the winter holidays: 3,184 classes were closed on Friday, compared to 2,693 classes the week before.
As a consequence of this resurgence of the epidemic, the number of hospital admissions is no longer decreasing. On Sunday, March 20th, French hospitals recorded an average of 1,068 new Covid-19 positive patients per day over a week. This uptick in the epidemic has also been observed for several weeks in other European countries.
The government is now inviting those over 80 to receive a second booster dose. To date, 75% of people aged 80 and over have received a first vaccination booster. The High Authority of Health (HAS) went further than the government on Friday, stating that the fourth vaccine dose should be offered to people over 65 years old who are “most at risk.”
