Covid-19 is back in the news in mid-summer in France, but also in several countries, due to the resurgence of cases.
The number of visits to emergency rooms for suspected Covid-19 cases rose by an average of 31 percent in the week following the Bayonne Festival – one of Europe’s largest festive gatherings, which attracted 1.3 million people from July 26 to July 30 – compared to the previous week.
Nine hundred and twenty patients of all ages have been treated, according to Public Health France, a government agency under the Ministry of Health, which specifies that these figures are still “moderate”. These are the only figures available at the moment, as the daily monitoring of the pandemic ended on June 30 due to the “favorable epidemiological context. “
French emergency medical service SOS Médecins reported an 84% increase in medical consultations for suspected Covid-19 cases between last week and last week. While this increase takes into account “all age groups,” it primarily affects children under the age of two.
The rise in incidence in mainland France is “localised, particularly in the southwest and essentially driven by the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region”, said the health ministry, noting that “most cases are in very popular holiday regions”.
This resurgence can be explained simply by the appearance of a new EG. 5. 1 variant, nicknamed “Eris”, the goddess of discord in Greek mythology, by some scientists. The World Health Organization (WHO) added this newcomer to the list of “variants of interest” on Wednesday.
“A new wave of Covid-19 is emerging with the emergence of a new variant, more transmissible than its predecessors and which is itself the dominant variant,” explains Antoine Flahault, epidemiologist and director of the Institute for Global Health at the University of Paris. Geneva Faculty of Medicine. ” As it turns out, this has happened in recent weeks with the Omicron EG. 5. 1 subvariant. “
The EG. 5. 1 strain is currently found in about 35% of viruses sequenced in France, according to Gisaid, a foreign database that gathers official data on Covid-19. This figure “should not be taken literally,” says Mircea Sofonea, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Montpellier, because “only positive tests are taken into account and we have not examined all people with inflammation. “
Since the beginning of the Omicron era, new variants, such as Eris, have been known in France to be more resistant to antibodies. They have “immunoevasion properties,” says Sofonea. This is nothing new. But the current resurgence: “The evolution of the epidemic shows that the virus continues to mutate. “
“In countries where this variant has been detected, there is no bureaucracy of more severe disease than in previous Omicron variants,” Flahault said. “In particular, fitness systems are no more saturated than they used to be. “In addition, the WHO has stated that “the public fitness threat posed by EG. 5 is considered low globally. “
Nevertheless, researchers warn that governments must remain cautious and plan ahead to avoid finding themselves in an alarming situation in a few months’ time. “By the autumn, traffic may reach significant levels for healthcare systems,” says Sofonea. “Flu and bronchiolitis epidemics can occur during this period. That’s what is so worrying.”
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A number of measures have been proposed to curb the transmission of the virus. “We can combat the threat of new waves of Covid-19, such as seasonal flu, by improving indoor air quality,” says Flahault, who previously recommended all “FFP2 mask dresses in enclosed and poorly ventilated places open to the public. “
Flahault believes that vaccination remains the key. Although the effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines appears to decline over time, a booster vaccination in the fall “would risk serious bureaucracy of the disease,” she believes. A new vaccination campaign, directed against Covid-19 and flu, is planned “from mid-October”, according to the Ministry of Health.
This article has been translated from French.