Based on the drop in the number of new diagnoses and the drop in the incidence rate, the Minister of Health said Sunday evening in an interview with the group of regional newspapers Ebra that France had probably passed a peak in the epidemic of coronavirus.
"We are regaining control over the epidemic," said Olivier Véran.
The decrease in the number of new diagnoses of Covid-19 cases and the drop in the incidence rate "suggests that we have passed an epidemic peak", said Minister of Health Olivier Véran on Sunday, judging that the control on the epidemic was being resumed.
"Thanks to confinement, as in March, the virus has started to circulate less. For ten consecutive days, the number of new Covid-19 diagnoses has been decreasing, the test positivity rate and the incidence rate have been falling. therefore to believe that we have passed an epidemic peak, "the minister said in an interview with regional newspaper group Ebra.
"Good news, but we haven't beaten the virus yet"
"We are regaining control over the epidemic, this is good news," he added.
"But we have not yet conquered the virus. (...) Clearly, it is too early to claim victory and relax our efforts", however warned Olivier Véran.
If the number of positive cases continued to increase, approaching two million cases, the number of entries in intensive care or intensive care services was, with 270 entries in 24 hours, at the lowest for three weeks, according to the figures. daily newspapers published Sunday by Public Health France.
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A vaccination campaign "when we have all the guarantees"
Despite a lower reliability than that of PCR tests, the Minister said "believe (re) a lot in antigenic tests" by the "precious time" gained to detect people positive for Covid-19 and the possibility of increasing the capacity of tests in France.
"A positive antigen test ensures the diagnosis. A negative result is not 100% reliable, and can be confirmed in the laboratory in the event of symptoms," he argued.
"Note that most scientists consider that a negative antigen test in an asymptomatic person would imply a low viral load. The risk of you being contagious would therefore be lower," continued Olivier Véran.
Regarding the expected arrival of a vaccine against the coronavirus, the minister declared that a "vaccination campaign will not begin until we have all the guarantees to safely vaccinate the population".
"If we have several vaccines, we will choose those which seem to us the safest and the most effective", affirmed Olivier Véran counting on the possibility that "by the beginning of next year, three or four laboratories could (...) apply for a marketing authorization ".