The French Public Health agency published its last weekly report of the year on Thursday evening. It covers week 52 of the crisis, from December 21 to 27, 2020.
Thursday, on the evening of the last day of a particularly troubled and trying year 2020, the Public Health France agency has made its final weekly report of this month of December. Focusing on “week 52” of the Covid-19 crisis on French territory, that is to say the week from December 21 to 27, the agency thus noted that the number of new confirmed contaminations was maintained at a high level, as well as the number of hospitalizations and admissions to intensive care units. Worse, Public Health France is worried about “a possible epidemic outbreak in the coming weeks”.
24,776 people hospitalized
Noting that the regions currently most affected are Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Grand Est, Hauts-de-France, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, the agency identified the number of people hospitalized on the date December 29: 24,776 people were admitted that day, including 2,675 people in intensive care.
The document ensures that “the evolution of the number of deaths cannot be interpreted”. However, we know that 64,632 people have so far lost their lives because of Covid-19 in France since the start of the crisis, including 44,852 in hospital. Between Wednesday and Thursday, the virus killed 252 more people.
Contrast
The French have been tested extensively around the end of the year celebrations, whether Christmas or New Year. Throughout this 52nd week, there has been an average of 11,780 new confirmed cases per day. But if we dive into the detail, the reality is more contrasted. This daily average of new confirmed contaminations was in fact 17,348 the first four days, then 4356, the last three.
More than half of these cases showed no symptoms. Finally, there were two cases carrying the British variant of the disease, and one case carrying the South African variant.
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