Last week, the circulation of the coronavirus "slowed down on the national territory, but remained at a high level", summarizes the public health agency France in a bulletin published on its site.
"A drop in the incidence rate and the positivity rate was observed in almost all regions and age groups," she explains.
The epidemic, which had experienced a lull after a wave at the end of the summer, started again for more than a month.
This rebound has given rise to a number of Covid hospitalizations - more than 25,000 - unprecedented since last spring.
But the current wave appears to have peaked.
For several days, the daily number of new cases – 49,517 on Thursday – has been systematically falling.
This eventual peak begins to translate to the hospital.
Last week, new hospitalizations fell by 4% to 8,354 patients.
However, in critical care alone, the trend remains slightly up (+1% to 737 admissions).
This evolution only gives an idea of the situation at the national level.
In some regions, Public Health France points out that hospital admissions remain on the rise.
This wave contributes to a context of "triple epidemic", which is testing the health system.
The Covid is indeed added to the flu, whose epidemic extends throughout the metropolis, and to bronchiolitis, at record levels for more than ten years in infants despite a recent slowdown.
The health agency therefore reiterated its calls for anti-flu and anti-Covid vaccination for people at risk, especially the elderly, and for respect for gestures such as wearing a mask in closed and frequented places.
In addition, another health agency, the Directorate General of Health (DGS), warned Thursday, in a message to caregivers, that no anti-Covid treatment by antibodies was no longer recommended in France.
This follows the finding that these drugs have lost their effectiveness against current variants of the coronavirus.
On the other hand, health authorities are seeking to speed up prescriptions for another type of treatment, Pfizer's Paxlovid pill.
© 2022 AFP