The third wave of COVID-19 translation in France has reached its peak

On April 22, French Prime Minister Jean Castex said that the third wave of COVID-19 epidemic in this country seemed to have passed the peak period when the number of new cases tended to decrease in recent days.

Patient COVID-19 is being treated at a hospital in Bry-Sur-Marne, France, on April 15, 2021. Photo: AFP / VNA Prime Minister Castex confirmed there is evidence that contagion in the past 10 days has tended to decrease. Castex also announced that measures to restrict people from leaving the area within a 10-kilometer radius around the house will be removed from May 3. France is implementing a third blockade to prevent the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but this prevention measure is considered to be more relaxed than the previous two times. During the 3rd blockade, outdoor activities are still encouraged to improve the mental health of residents. Most of the non-essential stores, cafes, restaurants, and cultural venues are closed. In a new statement, Mr. Castex said that shops, certain cultural and sporting activities and cafes could be reopened from mid-May, depending on the disease situation in Vietnam. at that moment. The French Prime Minister also emphasized that the government will allow regional openings, starting with regions with low COVID-19 prevalence. National curfew from 7:00 p.m. daily remains in place until further notice. Mr. Castex noted this measure will be reevaluated in mid-May but the government has not put in place a firm schedule for easing. To date, France has recorded a total of more than 5.4 million cases of COVID-19, of which 102,164 died. Over the past few days, the number of COVID-19 cases requiring special treatment has been contained below 6,000. After a slow start, the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in France is accelerating, with more than 13 million people getting at least the first shot. From April 24, French people aged 55 and over will be vaccinated with the COVID-19 vaccine from the American pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson. This is the fourth COVID-19 vaccine to be licensed in France, after the products of Pfizer / BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca. Meanwhile, to prevent the emergence of new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the French Ministry of the Interior decided that all passengers from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, India and South Africa would have to undergo quarantine. At the accommodation for 10 days, under the supervision of French police. Currently, health officials in all countries are encouraging the implementation of measures to be alert for the types of viruses with faster spread rates. Also on April 22, Belgian health officials announced the presence of the virus variant in India in this country. Specifically, the new variant was discovered in 20 nursing students from Paris (France) to Belgium in mid-April. The group with a total of 43 students was quarantined upon entry. Experts say the group was infected from a super infectious patient, possibly a member of the group, or from another passenger also on the trip from France to Belgium. A variant of the virus detected in India called B.1.617 has also appeared in several other countries such as the US, Australia, Israel and Singapore. Concerned about this variant, some countries, including the UK, applied a restriction on travel with India.