- By the end of this month, France may have a fourth wave of Covid-19 infections.
- French officials acknowledged that despite the adequate supply, the number of people vaccinated is insufficient, which may lead to an increase in cases.
- Due to the Delta variant, the number of new cases in several countries has increased dramatically.
A French government spokesperson said on Monday that due to the spread of the more contagious virus delta variant, France may see a surge in new coronavirus cases by the end of July.
“In the past week, this epidemic has become popular again,” Gabriel Attar told Radio France International that the Delta variant now accounts for 30% of new infections in the country.
He said that by the end of this month, the fourth wave of infections is “possible”, which echoes the warning issued by the Minister of Health Olivier Veran on Sunday night.
As a result of this mutation, several countries, including the United Kingdom and Russia, have seen a shocking surge of new cases. This mutation was first discovered in India.
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French officials acknowledged that despite the adequate supply, the number of people vaccinated is insufficient, which may lead to an increase in cases.
Attar said: “We have seen (cases) explosions in the UK that happened quickly after the first red flags, and we have also seen these signs in our country.”
Overall, as of last Thursday, the incidence of infections in France was 21 per 100,000. This is the latest available data. It is still below the alarm level of 50, but it has increased by 10% from the previous week.
Wieland warned on Twitter: “The British example shows that a wave may start from the end of July,” he said. The combination of vaccines, testing and social distancing can limit its impact.
Health authorities reported nearly 2,600 new cases in the past 24 hours on Sunday, which is also an increase from the last few days, although it is a far cry from the 35,000 daily cases at the peak of the third wave that struck France in April.
Although the government ruled out the possibility of compulsory vaccination, only 36% of the population received two doses of the vaccine.
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This week, Prime Minister Jean Castex will meet with local officials and political party leaders in Parliament to discuss the need to vaccinate health workers and nursing home staff.
The French Federation of Hospitals (FHF) stated that the vaccination rate of hospital staff has stagnated at 64%, and adherents expressed doubts about the safety of injections.
