Coronavirus: in France, they say they have exceeded the peak …

The French health agency said on Friday that the country appears to have passed the peak of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, although he warned citizens that the situation remains delicate.

“Although the indicators remain at high levels, their observation suggests that the epidemic peak of the second wave has been overcome”The French health agency reported in a statement, which attributed the improvement to the containment and curfew that govern the country.

The effect of restrictions

The Agency noted that epidemiological data has improved particularly in the first towns where restrictions were taken, Like the nighttime curfew

The first night curfews were decreed on October 17 in some of the main cities of France, such as Paris, Lyon and Marseille., to cope with a sharp increase in the number of Covid-19 cases. Then, on October 30, the authorities again declared a general lockout, for the second time this year, although more flexible than in the spring.

Kindergartens, schools and colleges remain open with reinforced health protocol so many parents can continue working, but non-essential stores remain closed, as well as cinemas, museums, theaters and gymnasiums.

These measures had a “direct effect”, which translates into “the delay between the application of the first curfew and the trend reversal ten days later,” said the health agency.

Coronavirus cases

In the week of November 9 to 15, there was a simultaneous decrease in the number of new cases confirmed contamination (-40%), hospitalizations (-13%) and intensive care admissions (-9%).

The health portfolio in turn indicated that the number of deaths “seems to stabilize for the first time after several weeks of increase”: 3,756 the week of November 9 to 15, compared to 3,817 the previous week.

It is also the first time since the start of the second wave that hospitalizations and admissions to intensive care units have declined from week to week.

Despite this improvement, the health agency urged the French not to lower their guard and to continue to apply preventive measures.

“These encouraging results (…) should not make us forget that, while awaiting treatment and vaccines, the only way to curb the epidemic and reduce its impact on the health system and on mortality remains adoption of individual preventive measures. , combined with collective measures ”, he stressed.

Since the start of the pandemic, France has accumulated more than 2.08 million infections and 47,127 deaths, according to the latest data provided.