A new graph compiled with the use of official health service figures shows how the number of cases of Covid being diagnosed by GPs in France has been rising weekly since July.
It shows the number of new Covid cases diagnosed after a patient visited their GP complaining of breathing difficulties with the data coming from the GP reporting and health monitoring network, Sentinelles.
Pic: Visactu
The latest data (relating to the week of September 4-10) shows there were 54,699 new cases reported, equating to 82 cases per 100,000 people. This is an increase on the previous week (August 28 to September 3) when there were 53 cases per 100,000 population, or 35,420 new cases.
The number of cases has been rising significantly since July, largely due to the emergence of the new variants, Eris and Pirola. Cases of Eris and Pirola have now been detected in many countries, including in Spain, Denmark, the UK, and the US.
US health authority the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now recommending that everyone aged six months and over should have a new Covid-19 booster vaccine, while the UK has brought forward its seasonal flu and Covid booster vaccination campaign to September 18. It was previously planned for the start of October.
In France, authorities have also said that they are prepared to bring the seasonal flu and Covid vaccination campaigns forward if Covid cases begin to spike. However, no such move has yet been confirmed.
In light of the new cases, president of the Comité de veille et d'anticipation des risques sanitaires (Covars), Brigitte Autran, recently reminded the public of the importance of self-isolation in case of infection.
She told newspaper Libération that “the priority is to understand the new variant and prepare the vaccination campaign”. She said that the campaign would aim to target both the recent variant Eris and the new Pirola strain.
