Even if a general reconfinement "is not on the agenda and does not constitute a working hypothesis", for Olivier Véran "we are in a risky situation". In an interview with the Journal du Dimanche , the Minister of Health multiplied the warnings in the face of Covid-19. It must be said that the figures are worrying: Saturday, 3,602 new positive diagnoses were recorded, according to health authorities.
"The risk is that the water will start to boil again"
The epidemic "has never stopped", recalled Olivier Véran. "It was only checked during the confinement and then the progressive deconfinement". "The risk is that, after gently removing the lid of the pan, the water will boil again." "The virus circulates four times more among those under 40 than among those over 65," said the Minister. However, "if the circulation of the virus still accelerates among the youngest, they could infect the elderly, who more often contract more serious forms of the disease".
It is therefore necessary "at all costs to avoid this situation which would put our health system under strain and would be extremely problematic", insisted the Minister. Because "no scientific argument comes to support" the theory of a "less dangerous" virus. “The Covid which is spreading is the same as the one which claimed the lives of 30,000 French people. Only the patient profile has changed, younger and therefore less symptomatic ”.
Next steps for the Bouches-du-Rhône
In Bouches-du-Rhône, one of the eight departments where the level of vulnerability is high, "where there are 188 new cases per 100,000 people aged 20 to 40, we have seen for three weeks that positive tests have increased among seniors" , he remarked. “The passage between audiences is already happening. And there is once again an increase in admissions to hospitalization and intensive care ”. "New measures will be taken quickly" in this department, he announced.
However, Olivier Véran wanted to be reassuring on the reception capacities of hospitals by affirming that "we are capable of accommodating up to 29,000 patients in intensive care". "We had a total of 17,000 times in intensive care during the epidemic wave of spring", he recalled.
The stock of masks reconstituted at the end of September
Regarding the start of the new school year, the Minister indicated that it was necessary to ensure "to define and put in place all the necessary rules and protocols so that the start of the school year can take place in the best conditions". “With Jean-Michel Blanquer, we worked with the Haut Conseil de la santé publique to define the rules making it possible to minimize risks in schools. In any case, these risks are much lower than those that we would run the children by depriving them of school for weeks, ”he said.
Finally, when asked about masks, Olivier Véran indicated that "at the end of September, we will have reconstituted the famous national stock of masks that we have so missed".
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