Paris (AFP)
Private meetings no longer appear to be times particularly at risk of transmission of Covid-19, unlike last fall, epidemiologist Arnaud Fontanet said Thursday, who sees it as a sign of the effectiveness of prevention messages.
In recent months, "there is no excess risk" associated with having attended a party with friends or a meal with the extended family, he said during an online press briefing of the 'ANRS-Emerging infectious diseases.
These results come from the update of the ComCor study, led by the epidemiologist at the Institut Pasteur, which analyzes the "socio-demographic factors, behaviors and practices associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection", from questionnaires filled out by French people infected with the virus.
In October and November, the risk of contamination during private meetings was clearly higher than in other situations, recalled the member of the Scientific Council.
"I have the secret hope that it is the work of prevention that has borne fruit," he added, referring to the many declarations "at Christmas time on the risks associated" with these situations, and the advice on reducing them (limit the number of guests, ventilate the rooms, etc.)
The ComCor study also sought to see if the risk circumstances were different with the Alpha and Beta variants (previously called British and South African) compared to the historical strain of the coronavirus.
"We thought that there might be circumstances that would be more associated with the transmission of the English variant, for example, because of its over-transmissibility, but this was not clearly found in this study. ", explained Professor Fontanet.
"All the sub-risks and excess risks that we had been able to estimate (...) do not vary globally according to the nature of the virus which infects you", he concluded.
Among the circumstances associated with a higher risk of contamination include: working at your usual place rather than teleworking, the practice of carpooling, going to sports halls, living in a hostel, having a child in school, at the crèche or looked after by a childminder.
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